Mental health to be featured at first Community Health Town Hall meeting

I was just discussing this with Eureka Mayor Kim Bergel this morning near the Courthouse. Commander Leonard LaFrance is an excellent choice as a speaker for any Town Hall meeting or similar event in Humboldt.

Press Release:

On Saturday, March 4th, from 1:30-4:30pm, the City of Eureka Mayor’s Initiative, in collaboration with Humboldt County Behavioral Health, will be hosting the first in a quarterly series of Community Health Town Halls. 

The series will have rotating topics revolving around mental health, substance use, and homelessness issues within our community. The topic for our first Town Hall is Mental Health 101.

The events will consist of a panel of professionals from different parts of the field for each topic. They will give a brief presentation on their background and program, and then the remainder of the event will be opened up for public questions. 

 The City hopes these Town Halls will provide a dedicated forum to have respectful and safe dialogues around critical health related issues in the community. Through education, discussion, and developing creative and collaborative solutions, the City hopes to bring our community together in supporting those experiencing issues related to mental health, substance use, or homelessness.

These are truly community-based problems which require community solutions, and we hope that you bring your questions, suggestions, and solutions to share with your fellow community members. The Town Hall will be hosted in City of Eureka Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of Eureka City Hall, 531 K Street, Eureka. Doors will open at 1:30pm and there will be food and water free to attendees. The Town Hall will start at 2:00pm. 

 The event will also be live streamed for viewing only on the City’s website through Granicus, Zoom, and the City’s official Facebook Live account. To ask your question(s), you can attend in person or email your question ahead of time to townhall@eurekaca.gov. 

Notecards will be available for anonymous question submission for inperson attendees who do not want to ask their question in front of an audience. Present at this event, Humboldt’s own chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will be tabling and accepting monetary donations. NAMI provides education and support to individuals experiencing mental health and substance use issues, as well as their family members. For more information on what your support of NAMI means, you can view their website at https://www.nami-humboldt.org/.