Leaders from the city of Poplar Bluff, Missouri Highlands Health Care, FCC Behavior Health and Three Rivers College gathered on Friday to issue joint proclamations recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month.
In addition, the proclamations identified each of the organizations as “Stigma-Free,” declaring the common goal of eliminating traditional stigmas of mental illness and educating people of the realities of mental health.
Lisa Martin, the program director of Medication-Assisted Treatment and Behavioral Health Support at Missouri Highlands, initiated the drive for the joint proclamations.
“Our goal was to get the city to sign a proclamation recognizing Mental Health Awareness Month,” Martin said. “I reached out to Ashley Lutton, Poplar Bluff director at FCC Behavioral Health, and invited them to be part of the event.”
Martin said, “FCC is a great community partner of ours, and she was on board immediately.”
She also contacted Corey Reynolds, Behavioral Health support program coordinator at Three Rivers College, for their support. Reynolds spoke as emcee of the event, which was held on the college campus.
Martin identified many of the common stigmas surrounding mental illnesses: people can “just get over it”; demeaning terms such as “crazy” or “bonkers”; these problems can be solved with willpower or working harder; or that people are to blame for their mental illness.
“Mental illness is not a choice,” Martin said. “The brain is a complex thing. Like diabetes, it’s a real disease.”
Martin hopes the proclamations will assist cooperation between community partners to address mental health issues by providing resources and support to those who are ill.
Reynolds echoed these ideas, encouraging the community to raise awareness for mental health and provide more education about these illnesses.
“Ten million Americans live with serious mental health issues,” Reynolds said. “Among people ages 10 through 34, the second-leading cause of death is by suicide.”
Poplar Bluff Mayor Shane Cornman, in declaring the city’s proclamation, read, “We urge all citizens of this community, government agencies, public and private institutions, businesses, and schools to recommit our community to increasing awareness and understanding of mental illness, reducing stigma and discrimination, and promoting appropriate and accessible services for all people with mental illness.”
Randy Ray, CEO of FCC Behavior Health, said the COVID pandemic has made more people aware of mental health issues and helped reduce the stigma surrounding them.
“People are more apt to talk about their mental health issues these days,” Ray said. “We’ve seen that, so that’s a good thing.”
He added, “Coming together like this creates a sense of awareness and openness about mental health.”
Missouri Highlands Health Care CEO Karen White said, “In order to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and substance abuse treatment, we have to focus on normalization of services within our communities.
“In our rural areas, there is a significant lack of professional mental health service providers, which exacerbates the overall level of mental health illness within our communities.”
“What was staggering was to learn that in our rural areas, we have twice the rates of suicide as our urban counterparts,” White said. “Part of that goes back to a lack of mental health professionals in the area to meet the needs.
“But more importantly, it is the stigma that remains attached to folks reaching out for help; either they are ashamed to do so, or they are shamed because they reach out.”
“People in our culture do not reach out for services,” White said. “Our culture does not place a high value on reaching out for help or seeking wellness, and all of us in this room together can work together to change that.”
Dr. Wesley Payne, president of Three Rivers College, concluded the presentation by saying, “Corey Reynolds has done a great job in moving forward with our Behavioral Health Support Program, and that is how we’re working to help solve the issue with a lack of mental health providers.
“It’s not only the mental health of our students that is important, but we also want to help our community become better,” Payne said, “and through our programming and partnerships, we are accomplishing that.”
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