I wrote a column for our Sept. 22 edition and stated that our board was tasked to vision and find the funding for the “Safe Community Project.” This initiative focuses on better mental health for us all with hope, trauma-informed care and non-violent communication.
We feel strongly that the PPB is uniquely positioned to tell your stories, and to create a place of safety and trust where we can share resources, tips and tools to better address this crisis. We started the pilot run of the project last week with Kathryn Eastburn’s story about psychotherapist Gustav Moen, and we have another piece she wrote in this week’s edition. It’s a start!
We’re planning a page or two every week in the paper and a link to the digital version on our website and social media pages. We’re actively seeking content collaborators to help us foster a stronger culture around mental health care and asking for/receiving help, especially for our readership.
We have already been in conversation with The Beehive of Manitou Springs, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Westside CARES, the Suicide Prevention Collaborative of El Paso County, local therapists and several very interested entities that will be a part of this project.
Our board is very excited about the possibilities, and in our meeting last week, we had quite a bit of passionate discussion around it. However, there was bit of discomfort with the name and how we “brand” this project as a vital program of the Bulletin.
So, we brainstormed! We came up with potential names for the program: “Health & Hope” “There is Hope” “Mental Health Bulletin” “Hope Through Community” “Mental Health Corner” “Cultivating Mental Health” “Community-Powered Mental Health”
Then, one of our board members suggested that we do what we’ve done since relaunching the Bulletin: Go to the community and ask for your help.
Please send your suggestions and ideas to lyn@pikespeakbulletin.org with “mental health” in the subject line. In the near future, we will unveil the winning and best name and logo for the project!
We want to build a “bookcase” where the “shelves” contain all the relevant content about better mental health.
What would you like to see in this project? For now, you will still see “Safe Community” content and resources as we add and expand the coverage of this mental health crisis that affects us all.