Wagner is a community on the move. Taking steps forward. Rising together. May is Mental Health Awareness month and the Strengthening Our Community (SOC) Committee aims to bring awareness about mental health to our area in order to reduce stigma and isolation.

Mental health refers to a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. In this positive sense, mental health is the foundation for individual well-being and the effective functioning of a community. Mental illness is defined as “collectively all diagnosable mental disorders” or “health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.”

One in five adults in the United States experience a mental health condition in a given year. That’s 46.6 million people. Mental health conditionsaremoreprevalentthan diabetes (30.2 million people) and cancer (24.7 million people). Furthermore over 38,000 Americans died by suicide in 2010, making the number of Americans who die by suicide more than double the number who died by homicide.

Because of the stigma often associated with mental illnesses, many people do not seek assistance and treatment. Almost two-thirds of the over 45 million adults with any mental illness and almost 90 percent of the over 21 million adults with substance use disorders go without treatment annually in our country.

Providing for and supporting good mental health is a public health issue and communities prosper when the mental health needs of community health members are met. When mental health issues are not addressed they can negatively influence homelessness, poverty, employment, safety and the local economy. Serious mental illnesses cost the U.S. an estimated $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year.

Wagner is a leader in raising awareness and reducing sigma surrounding mental illness, providing supports and treatments for mental illness, and reducing the isolation associated with mental illness. Our hospitals have shown a commitment to provide clinic mental health services and telemedicine for mental health. Our school provides a multi-layered system of supports from classroom strategies available to all students, as well as strategic and intensive interventions for students who require specialized interventions. Services are provided by school counselors, a school psychologist and Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health services. Wagner Area Health and Wellness Consortium sponsors activities that lead to better physical and mental health. Yankton Sioux Tribe has sponsored a Suicide Awareness Walk and a Meth Prevention Campaign. The Boys and Girls Club offers health and wellness programs including Smart Moves, Smart Girls and Passport to Manhood.

Wondering how you can get involved?

1. Join the Mental Health May challenge sponsored by the Wagner Area Health and Wellness Consortium and the SOC Committee. Forms are available at https://www.facebook.com/ WagnerArea-HealthAndWellnessConsortium, at Commercial State Bank, First Dakota Bank, Wagner Clinic, Superfoods or Buche Foods.

2. On May 9th the SOC committee is hosting a community challenge for mental health awareness. We are encouraging all community members and businesses to wear your silliest socks or suicide awareness socks. Silly socks and suicide awareness socks are sold by the SOC committee and can be purchased at This, That and More.

3. Go to https://www.nami.org/stigma and take the Stigmafree quiz and pledge.

4. Participate in the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI Walks at 8:00AM on May 18, 2019 at Sertoma Park at 49th and Oxbow in Sioux Falls

5. Volunteer to be a part of the SOC committee by contacting Ericka Kotab at 605-491-0260.

Mental health issues within a community are challenging and complex. However, by coming together, having conversations, increasing our understanding and raising awareness we can make a difference.