KDADS

TOPEKA – Keys for Networking, a non-profit family advocacy organization, and members of the Rural and Frontier Subcommittee of the Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council, have scheduled a Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day roundtable discussion on helping children through natural disasters, and will offer community counseling opportunities on Thu., May 4, 2017 in Ashland, Kansas.

The intent is to assist Ashland residents and those from surrounding communities help their children understand and deal with the distress caused by the devastating, record-setting wildfires in early March that scorched about 75 percent of Clark County in southwest Kansas and caused severe damage in many other counties across Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

In Kansas alone, large wildfires in 20 counties damaged more than 651,000 acres — more than 1,000 square miles — and destroyed more than 40 homes and an unknown number of outbuildings. Thousands of head of livestock perished in the inferno.

“Partnering for Help and Hope – Supporting Children’s Mental Health Following a Natural Disaster” is the theme of the roundtable discussion scheduled for 11:30 a.m.in the Ashland High School gymnasium. The sponsors have invited junior and senior high school students, their parents, teachers, staff and community members to the participate. Children’s behavioral health specialists will answer questions and present research-based intervention models. Counseling opportunities for individual families and small groups will be offered in the afternoon and early evening.

Schedule:
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Ashland High School Gymnasium
311 J E Humphreys Street, Ashland, KS
10 a.m. – Presentation for students
11 a.m. – Junior high school students will be dismissed for lunch, seniors may remain longer
11:30 a.m. – Roundtable for parents: Questions, answers and discussion with educators, mental health clinicians, substance use disorder experts and trauma specialists. Lunch will be provided for participants.

1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Ashland Community Library
604 Main Street, Ashland, KS 67831
Individual or small group appointments for parents, small group meetings with speakers and roundtable participants. Iroquois Center for Human Development and Keys for Networking staff will be available.

6 p.m.
Ashland Community Library
604 Main Street, Ashland, KS 67831
Celebration of National SAMHSA Mental Health Awareness Day, live via Internet from Washington, D.C. Honorees are Olympic champions Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt, an eight–time Olympic medalist, who also will serve as Honorary Chairpersons of SAMHSA’s National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. Teammates and personal friends, Phelps and Schmitt have spoken candidly about their respective struggles with behavioral health and how they have supported each other through difficult times.

Partners for the Ashland events:
Ashland United School District 220
Compass Behavioral Health, Garden City and Dodge City
DCCCA, Douglas County
Iroquois Center for Human Development, Greensburg
Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS)
Keys for Networking Inc., Topeka
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Saint Francis Community Services of Garden City
Community Engagement Institute at Wichita State University

For additional information on these events, please contact Keys for Networking at (785) 233-8732.