Parents, Teachers, and Youth Leaders: A Presentation on Youth Mental Health & Drug-Free Choices

Parents, Teachers, and Youth Leaders: A Presentation on Youth Mental Health & Drug-Free Choices

How can you help Globe-Miami kids cope with stress and depression, take care of their own mental health, and make drug-free choices? Teachers, parents and all local community members are invited to a free one-hour forum Wednesday evening, Dec. 6, starting at 6:00 p.m. in the meeting room at the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce. Hosted by La Frontera EMPACT Suicide Prevention Center, the discussion will explore ways to support youth who are grappling with mental health challenges, and how to talk to them about alcohol, drugs and peer pressure. The forum is free, no advance sign-up needed, and host Stefanie Cary hopes teachers, parents and even youth leaders from throughout Gila County will attend and learn together. For details about this event, email Stefanie Cary at: Stefanie.Cary@lafrontera-empact.org.

“We talk about how to support youth through anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges,” said host Stefanie Cary. “We will also discuss how to talk to them about drugs and the dangers of self-medicating. This has always been such an important topic, but has become especially pertinent after the pandemic. Let us continue to foster an environment where kids feel comfortable in their own skin and supported through life’s challenges.”

EMPACT is a behavioral health agency that was founded in 1987 to support individuals living with mental health conditions by providing prevention, treatment, and emergency services. An acronym for Emergency Mobile Pediatric and Adolescent Crisis Team, initiatives began with ‘Teens Talking to Teens,’ in 1988 among the agency’s first programs established in 1988. EMPACT’s Survivors of Suicide support program began with inception of the agency; the Crisis Department and first Suicide Prevention Hotline were established in 1990 (that 24-hour crisis hotline is 480-784-1500)

EMPACT – by the numbers:

• Answers over 40,000 crisis calls per year

• 45% of calls involve suicide as the primary issue

• Over 96% of these callers report improvement by the end of their first call to the hotline