Northern Nevada Dream Center Executive Director Susan Sorenson, right, and Programs and Volunteers Director Bethany Herzing provide information to a student May 25, 2022 at a Carson City mental health community fair.
Photo by Jessica Garcia.
Students and families seeking local resources in observance of National Mental Health Awareness Month on Wednesday had an opportunity to meet with officials and volunteers representing local agencies at the Carson City Community Center to learn how to receive help or to access enrichment tools.
Carson City School District coordinator Michelle Cleveland, a licensed professional on assignment who oversees the schools’ social workers, said the event was the first Community Resources Fair intended to assist families and children with their needs.
“Our goal is to connect the community with resources, especially our families before the kids go home for the summer,” Cleveland said. “And so, this event is something that is new for all of us to bring all of our community partners together under one roof so that our families really have an idea of what is available out there.”
The fair offered access to agencies including Carson Tahoe Behavioral Health Services, Capital City C.I.R.C.L.E.S. Initiative, Grounded Roots Therapy, Serenity Mental Health and Juntos Carson City 4H Youth Programming and more.
Kaitlyn Griffiths, a school social worker representing Mark Twain Elementary School, was staffing the table for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and helping to distribute the organization’s information. Griffiths said the year so far has been positive but challenging for Mark Twain’s students.
“It’s been a lot of struggles with COVID,” she said. “Everybody feels like it’s whiplash; at first we’re told this, then we’re told this. It’s still a work in progress. We’re hoping next year, it feels like a normal year.”
But Griffiths said there’s in general, the community has its misconceptions about mental health issues at large. She said she favored holding the fair for families interested in asking questions of local organizations or the school’s staff members.
“There’s a lot of stigma and not enough education on it, and I think we wanted to be such an advocate because I think a lot of families don’t know what to do when they’re faced with mental health issues with their student or themselves,” Griffiths said.
Northern Nevada Dream Center Executive Director Susan Sorenson was running a table with Programs and Volunteers Director Bethany Herzing, who provided materials for anyone who visited their booth. NNDC helps to meet basic needs for the homeless by providing emergency food boxes, clothing, toiletries, educational services and services for children and provides work skills training to use the Internet, smartphones and extended classes, Sorensen said.
“We know the strain parents have been under, and it’s been really important to support them,” she said. “With the last three years of doing our Back to School Bash, the parents and students have been on our hearts. … We always follow the need.”
Sorensen said although the Dream Center has been in Carson City for the past 12 years, it has experienced what she calls the “COVID fallout” with its work doubling since 2020.
“COVID changed everything,” she said. “We never shut our doors and we kept on serving. … We love our city. Carson City is a great community.”
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