Again, you outdid yourselves through your support of and attendance at our fifth annual Mental Health Awareness Breakfast on May 10 at the Bien Venue Events Center in Cedar Falls to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month.
We heard a moving story of grief, loss, resilience and inspiration from Joanna Rahnavardi who had the audience of 700-plus in tears as she described her journey of recovery from her son’s suicide and her husband’s sudden death. Her message of finding hope in those losses was a clear call to action to everyone in attendance to take care of each other.
Each year, the planning committee for this event wonders how we can “best” last year’s event, and as usual they rose to the challenge through our keynote speaker. This event has become the largest fundraising event for a nonprofit entity in Black Hawk County’s history, raising over $100,000 to support the efforts of the Mental Health Center to meet the mental health needs of our community. The proceeds from this year’s event will be used to help purchase a new van that we use to transport our clients to services they would otherwise be unable to access.
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While stigma remains the biggest barrier in “making it okay not to be okay,” the multiple educational efforts that are being made locally, statewide and nationally are making a difference. The challenges facing us and other behavioral health providers remain significant, however with the support we receive we are making a difference and your efforts to share this message with friends, families, co-workers, employers, etc. is an integral part of the solution.
The support this community has offered to our organization and the staff who provide these essential services for more than 74 years is very much appreciated. Through the thoughtfulness of all of you who support mental health, we will continue our mission to educate our community, reduce stigma, promote prevention and early intervention approaches and provide services and supports to those impacted by mental health who have no voice.
We look forward to seeing you in May 2025 for our sixth annual Mental Health Awareness Breakfast with our keynote speaker, Gary Kroeger!
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Thomas C. Eachus is executive director of Black Hawk-Grundy Mental Health Center Inc.
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