MinnPost’s Mental Health & Addiction coverage seeks to shine a light on issues that affect a huge number of Minnesota families yet are often ignored by the media, with author Andy Steiner writing stories related to mental health, addiction and the complex relationship between the two.
House of Charity generously supports MinnPost’s Mental Health & Addiction coverage; learn why
“We saw an 18 percent increase nationwide in overdoses in March, a 29 percent increase in April and a 42 percent increase in May,” said Engebreth, who heads Minnesota Outpatient Services at Hazelden-Betty Ford.
“We decided to offer a series of virtual online classes,” said founder/Executive Director Jeanne Calvit. “We didn’t want anyone to get bored or feel isolated. We created a Zoom community, and the response from our artists was immediate and enthusiastic.”
“I want to show people you can still live a beautiful life even with the greatest challenges,” said Heather Boll, a certified peer support specialist.
Such programs often have higher success rates with members of minority populations, who frequently struggle to reach and maintain sobriety using traditional treatment programs.
Thanks to funding provided by the Minnesota Legislature, the program is available free of charge to all schools in the state.
The idea of the hubs, Dr. Rich Levine explained, is getting care where it is needed to the people who need it.
In an extended Q&A, Jenkins talks about her work on the City Council, her hopes for the future and the ways she looks after her own mental health.
Mission Nursing Home is a skilled nursing facility in Plymouth for men who have struggled with addiction, alcoholism and mental illness.
“The stressors of life have had a devastating impact on farmers and farm families,” Philips said. “In rural communities, we’re seeing higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide. It’s a disturbing trend.”
The Pink Cloud Foundation is a Twin Cities-based nonprofit that pays sober deposits for people facing financial hardship.
COVID Cares Support Service is a statewide phone line offering free, anonymous support for people experiencing stress and anxiety; it’s staffed by a volunteer team of licensed mental health professionals.
The coronavirus altered their plans. The group decided to produce a series of videos demonstrating the key tools that they teach. They called the series, which they posted on YouTube, “Finding the Pause.”
Face It, founded in 2009, was built on the idea that the support of other men is key to helping men understand and recover from depression and reduce the rate of male suicide.
In a Q&A, Hoyt talks about how societal stressors can take a toll on children’s safety, how a lack of in-person connection reduces child-welfare reports and the role that concerned adults can play in children’s lives.
Fidgety Fairy Tales, a traveling children’s acting troupe sponsored by the Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health, performs well-loved stories with a mental health twist.
A crisis line for adults in mental health distress, Hennepin County’s Community Outreach for Psychiatric Emergencies has been forced to shift to phone-only services due to coronavirus, assessing callers’ mental states in new and different ways.
While the majority of members had cellphones, many didn’t realize that their phones had cameras. And others didn’t have a computer or a laptop at home. This meant that many needed a crash course in online communication.
At Washburn, COVID-19 meant changing the way they’d been doing things for over a century in a matter of days.
While the Training Institute’s classes are usually designed to provide continuing education credits for mental health professionals, this course was created with laypeople in mind.
Because loss upends the lives of those left behind, Carolyn Kinzel explained it is her organization’s goal to help grieving families build connections that can make navigating their new reality a little easier.
