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Mental health symposium set for Aug. 26

Abilene Reporter-News - 8/13/2016

Aug. 13--Mental Health America of Abilene will host its second yearly symposium Aug. 26, with an emphasis on mental health issues in school systems and needed interventions.

The event, which will run from 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., will discuss adolescent wellness, current mental health initiatives and legislative updates.

"The area is very much a team in working on mental health," said Samantha Manski, executive director of Mental Health America of Abilene. "We have all major players in the mental health arena collaborating on this event."

MHAA is partnering with Hendrick Medical Center, the Betty Hardwick Center, Oceans Behavioral Hospital, and Acadia, said Pearl Merritt, vice president of education for Mental Health America of Abilene and regional dean for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center'sSchool of Nursing.

The event will be hosted at Texas Tech'sAbilene campus, 1674 Pine St.

Superintendent David Young of the Abilene Independent School District will open the event, Merritt said, and there will be a "panel of counselors from the schools."

"We believe by partnering with the community, we will be much stronger with our endeavors to educate the public on mental health issues," she said.

"There is still a lack of funding for mental health care, and it touches the lives of not only the individual but the families," Merritt said.

There also is a shortage of mental health care providers in Abilene and across the state, she said.

"We are hoping that by providing experts on this topic, it will bring more of an awareness to the needs in our community and will open up dialogue on how we can better meet these needs," she said.

The symposium is free to anyone who wants to attend, and also offers continuing education credits for professionals for $30. Those wanting CEUs must register in advance, with payment accepted on-site.

Scheduled speakers include:

Nelson Jarrin, director of government affairs for Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.

State Sen. Charles Schwertner, District 5. Schwertner went to school at Cooper and his parents still live here, Merritt said.

Billy Phillips, director of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center'sF. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health.

John Crowley, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Stan Standridge, chief of police for the Abilene Police Department.

For more information, contact 325-673-2300 or info@abilenemha.org. Registration is available at AbileneMHA.org.

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(c)2016 the Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Texas)

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