FAIRMONT — May is globally regarded as Mental Health Awareness Month and Martin County-based Empower Coalition is taking mental health awareness and education by storm with its new interactive and community-focused Changing the Narrative on Suicide and Mental Health training.

“It feels encouraging to bring this,” said Empower Coalition Project Coordinator Shelly Larsen. “We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health.”

During the event, participants will discuss safe language and actions to reduce and prevent stigma, develop confidence to speak about mental health and suicide and learn facts and ways to reshape perceptions about mental health and suicide.

These discussions aim to help individuals promote connection, hope, healing and resilience in the community.

“This training is for everyone, parents, teachers, neighbors, coworkers… Mental health is a community issue. We all have a role to play,” Larsen stated. “We aren’t here to be fix people. We’re here to give our community the confidence to show up for one another.”

Empower Coalition received a grant from the Minnesota Department of Health. This support allows Empower Coalition to implement mental health components into its work and mission to support youth and families to lead healthy lives. As they introduce this opportunity, Empower Coalition hopes participants know ‘help is available, suicide is preventable, recovery and healing are possible and knowledge is power’.

“It’s really important we start those discussions, that we have this education, and that we can come together as a community,” Larsen said.

As for reception, Larsen shared that the capped participant number is 30 individuals and 32 have registered for the event on Wednesday. Empower Coalition will start a waiting list, but is pleased to see people interested in learning about suicide and mental health.

“People are eager to have this knowledge. People, I think, do want to talk about mental health. They just don’t know how to take that first step. This training is really opening that door to a safe space where we can come together and start having these conversations around mental health and mental wellbeing,” Larsen expressed.

Larsen concurred that this event could be a significant stepping stone to erasing mental health and suicide stigma and uplifting individuals, especially those living with mental health conditions.

Looking ahead, Larsen explained that Empower Coalition would like to acquire four facilitators to have future Changing the Narrative trainings in the community.

“I think when communities learn to talk about mental health the right way, lives can be saved,” Larsen remarked.

The Changing the Narrative training will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, in Room 112 of the Southern Minnesota Educational Campus (SMEC) building, located at 115 S. Park Street in Fairmont. To keep a lookout for more Changing the Narrative trainings and events by Empower Coalition, visit empowermartin.com or contact Larsen at shelly@empowermartin.com.