Lumen Christi will be hosting a Community Mental Health Forum at Club Sapphire on September 14 with highly regarded adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg.
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“The focus of this is adolescent mental health, but in any seminars that I have attended with Dr Carr-Gregg, he has always been quite outspoken about the harmful effects of drugs,” Mr Centra said.
Research shows that having a mental illness can make a person more likely to abuse drugs, to make their symptoms feel better in the short-term.
Mr Centra said suicide and mental health continue to have significant impact on the Far South Coast community.
“As such, we need to work together as a community to do what we can to address these issues, to assist those in need and to prevent any further tragic deaths,” he said.
“Our young people need our support. As a community, we are responsible for ensuring that this support is provided. Therefore, it is imperative that we join forces to see what can be done to improve the mental health of our young people.”
Mr Centra said the forum will be focusing on youth mental health and will look at how parents and community members can build the resilience of children; what can be done to improve the services offered to better manage mental health and how the community can better support the families experiencing the pressures associated with youth mental health.
“One death by suicide is one too many,” Mr Centra said.
“As the saying goes… ‘It takes a whole village to raise a child.’ We, the members of that village, need to put our heads together to see what we can do to help our kids enjoy life and to reach their vast potential. Anything less is not good enough.”
The Mental Health Forum will take place on Thursday, September 14 at Club Sapphire from 6pm to 9pm.
This is a free event and the whole community is invited to attend.