Mental health is a community effort

'All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney

Without question, 2020 in Iowa will be remembered for more than a pandemic, record job losses, business closures, and racial injustice protests. Our communities reeled from a powerful derecho - an inland hurricane that tore through the center of the state and caused significant hardships. These collective emotional traumas - so widespread, so intense, and yet particular to our part of Iowa - have increased the challenges to our neighbors, young and old alike. Long after the hurricane force winds have ceased, mental stress, hardships, and calls for help dominate the news into 2021.

Mental health has long been shrouded in secrecy and embarrassment. Current circumstances added increased impetus to the efforts of local leaders to bring Make It OK to Linn County - a campaign to reduce stigma around mental health care. Originated in Minnesota in 2012 through a partnership by a local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), an insurance company, and a hospital, Make It OK aims to de-stigmatize mental health conditions to enable people to be more willing to seek the care they need. In Linn County and other parts of Iowa, the campaign has drawn a wide range of business, school, college, government, church, and medical organizations to help spread Make It OK awareness.

After training as mental health ambassadors, well over 100 students, educators, employers, medical staff, and caregivers have continued critical discussions about mental health. A monthly virtual series, Make It OK Mid-Week, provided resources to normalize conversations about mental illness. Mental health messages, tool kits, resources, and lived stories continue to be shared in workplaces, houses of worship, schools, and neighborhoods.

These partnerships are proving valuable in bringing people together for mental health healing in the aftermath of the pandemic as well as weather disasters. Uniting our community to promote resiliency and to highlight ways to be on the lookout for each other are key take-aways. However, mental health needs during the early days of the past year's crisis continue into 2021. Therein lies the need for ongoing mental health education.

On March 11, 'Make It OK! A Community Call to Action to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma,” a free virtual event, will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Ben Nemtin, bestselling author and co-founder of The Buried Life movement will share insights about 'The Impossible is Possible.” Community leaders will discuss the importance of Make It OK and others will share their stories about living with mental illness. A panel will highlight ways to promote mental wellness in work settings, schools, places of worship, and homes. Advanced registration by March 8 @ www.iowahealthieststate.com/MakeItOKLC is required.

Listen, learn, share, and be inspired with others to stop the silence around mental illness. Join the ongoing mental health trainings offered thru Make It OK, take the anti-stigma pledge, and learn about resources as well as more ways to help each other in mental health recovery.

This community call-to-action helps break mental health stigma and encourages people with mental illnesses to talk about what they are experiencing. Ultimately, people and families dealing with mental health concerns may find it easier to ask for help, get early treatment, and use the resources they need to succeed. Help stop the silence around mental illness. Allow everyone's dreams to come true to help. Working together, our community may remove the stigma of mental illness. Let us Make It OK.

Mona McCalley-Whitters Ph.D., is executive director, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Linn County. Lori Weih is director of Community Relationsm at UnityPoint Health. Phil Wasta is executive director of the MedQuarter Regional Medical District. Kathy Johnson is executive director of the Abbe Center for Community Mental Health. Kathy Horan is president/CEO at AbbeHealth. Anne Harris Carter is a community volunteer.