Cari Phillips of The Family Place Utah talks with KVNU For the People host Jason Williams.
LOGAN — Last year, The Family Place Utah observed their 40th anniversary of providing help for families in northern Utah and southeastern Idaho.
Now in their 41st year they are not slowing down at all with events for all ages.
On KVNU’s For the People program on Monday, Cari Phillips, Mental Health First Aid project director said they have an event for the whole family at the end of this month.
“As the Mental Health First Aid project director, part of my role is organizing community events that both offer resources to the community as well as helping them get out and have fun, do things that will help take care of mental health for individuals and families. This particular activity is going to be Saturday, Sept 30th from 10 to 6; we are offering free entrance into Zootah for the entire day,” explained Phillips.
She said they will have resources available, you can ask questions and they will have snacks. This will be a wrap-up to Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
When it comes to openly talking about mental health challenges, Phillips said it depends on the age group.
“So, I also work as an instructor at Utah State University and I’ve found working with students, that they’re starting to be much more open about discussing mental health challenges as a group. When I go and work with middle-aged to older adults, it’s something that’s still, generally speaking, more difficult for them. So, we just kind of have to approach in different ways and meet people where they’re at.”
You can register for Mental Health First Aid classes through the Family Place website. Phillips said there’s one this week on September 13th and 14th that is a virtual class.
“Yeah, and it’s a really wonderful opportunity when we can do it virtually, we get to work with people from all over the country who are interested in these things. So, if you attend the virtual class you get to connect with people that you probably never would otherwise have met. And if you come in person then you connect here as part of our community, and there are definitely beautiful things about both.”
You can get more information at TheFamilyPlaceUtah.org