By Sally Gillespie
Many of you have expressed concern about mental health in the Wood River Valley. For this reason, we want you to be aware of an opportunity to participate in shaping local mental wellness efforts.
I serve as a member of the steering committee for the Mental Well-Being Initiative which seeks to leverage and amplify diverse community efforts in support of a shared, integrated, and comprehensive means to address mental health. We want to drive lasting, systemic solutions that help meet some of life’s basic needs, prevent a crisis before it happens, and provide connections and mental health care to all who need it.
In the spring of 2023, the St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation and the St. Luke’s Health
System convened various stakeholders to map the Wood River Valley’s well-being ecosystem – from prevention and intervention to treatment and recovery – with the goal of identifying strengths that could be amplified and vital gaps that could be filled.
They are now inviting the public to guide which ideas for improving our collective mental health hold the most promise for our community. The Initiative knows that our diverse population has varying needs. For this reason, it is asking the public to attend one of the six community engagement sessions to be held in Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue.
- 1/18 YMCA, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (F/SI)
- 1/24 The Community Library, 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- 1/25 Hailey Town Center West, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (F)
- 2/1 St. Charles Church, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. (SO/F)
- 2/7 The Community Campus, 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- 2/15 The Hunger Coalition, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (SO/F)
SO: Offered in Spanish only
SI: Offered in English with Spanish interpretation
F: Free childcare and dinner provided
Attend a session to learn about the issues and to help shape the future of mental well-being in Blaine County!
