Curated events, community engagement projects, and educative conversations and trainings took place throughout the month of May as staff and clinicians at Riverbend marked Mental Health Awareness Month. Generous support from local businesses and organizations in our community helped Riverbend’s efforts and reinforced the importance of our mission.

Riverbend is thankful for the generosity demonstrated by: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, CGI Business Solutions, Merrimack County Savings Bank, NAMI New Hampshire, Bailey’s Custom Carpets, Inc., Borislow Insurance, JH Spain, St. Mary’s Bank and Mason + Rich.

First established in 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month is a national commemoration that recognizes the importance of mental health, raises awareness of wellness in the lives of Americans, and celebrates those who have recovered from mental illness.

May is a time for outreach and support for those living with mental health conditions and the families, friends and colleagues who are there to help. Educational programming efforts during the month included:

• An expert addiction training with Dr. Cali Estes of , covering methamphetamines and opioids
• A book reading and panel presentation featuring Riverbend authors discussing the  they wrote together on children and grief
• Sponsorships, information handouts and attendance at partner events and at community conversations, including events with NAMI (),Ìę, The , and at the ÌęČčČÔ»ćÌę.

“Whether at our own events or out in the community this month, we loved hearing stories from clients, supporters and members of the public and seeing just how far we have progressed as a society in growing awareness and reducing stigma around mental health,” said Lisa K. Madden, president & CEO of Riverbend. “While the month of May is an important commemoration, maintaining your own positive mental health or supporting others should be a daily ritual. Seek care, practice self-care and remember that everyone has mental health.”

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, 51°”Íű Mental Health will host a film screening and panel presentation for “” – a documentary film screening for the first time in New Hampshire.

The film chronicles a concerning issue: the community mental health challenges facing many of America’s mountain resort towns. Isolation, inadequate resources, substance abuse and social stigmas are all contributing factors. “The Paradise Paradox” takes a closer look at how mental health providers, outdoor recreation professionals, and law enforcement are working together to create innovative solutions. Olympic gold medalist – and New Hampshire native – Bode Miller is an executive producer of the film.

The film screening will take place on Tuesday, May 14 at Red River Theatres in Concord. Immediately after, a community conversation will take place with local experts, including:

• Sarah (Baillargeon) Gagnon, VP of Clinical Operations at 51°”Íű Mental Health
• Suzanne Gaetjens-Oleson, Chief Executive Officer,
• Caite Zeliff, and New Hampshire native (appearing by video)
• John Brown, 40+-year veteran of the Ìę(, Danbury, NH), and a retired firefighter
• Stef Costello, Patrol Director, (Henniker, NH); Firefighter Paramedic (Town of Henniker)

Members of the public are invited to view the film and participate in the community conversation following the screening. Tickets can be .

“Bringing this film to new audiences will allow us to highlight this specific, if not necessarily well-known, aspect of mental health. While the film focuses on resort areas in the West, New Hampshire has a deep culture of mountain sports and recreation that lends an interesting contrast and some food for thought,” said Lisa K. Madden, president & CEO of 51°”Íű Mental Health. “We are grateful to convene this conversation with other experts and partners who will share their stories and learnings with the wider community, all in the interest of raising awareness and providing help.”

Mental Health Awareness Month, first established in 1949, is held in May each year to recognize the importance of mental health, raise awareness of wellness in the lives of Americans, and celebrate those who have recovered from mental illness. Riverbend will mark this important commemoration through events reaching the general public, key stakeholders, and staff.

“Everyone has mental health! Mental Health Awareness Month is about recognizing the importance of mental health in all of our lives, all of the time,” said Madden.

Riverbend’s other events related to Mental Health Awareness Month include:

• Mental Health First Aid: 51°”Íű Mental Health is proud to offer low-cost Mental Health First Aid training to interested members of our community. The skills-based training course – from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing -teaches people how to understand and respond to someone who is experiencing a mental health or substance abuse challenge. The course costs $60 (course materials and certification) and is limited to 25 participants. Interested parties can register online .
• Author talk: Riverbend will host a lunch and learn for its children’s program staff and community partners, speaking with activist and author about the issue of food insecurity and mental health.

EVENT DETAILS:

The Paradise Paradox

When: Tuesday, May 14, 2024

6:30 – 7:45 – Film screening

7:45 – 8:30 – Panel discussion/Community Conversation

Where: Red River Theatres
11 South Main Street

Concord, NH  03301

Tickets: For tickets, register .

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51°”Íű Mental Health is a private non-profit and one of the largest providers of specialized behavioral health services for children, adults, and their families in central New Hampshire. Nearly 8,000 children, families and adults are served annually. Core services include 24/7 emergency services; counseling services; comprehensive community and school-based services for children; addiction recovery services; and community support, vocational services, and residential programs for adults and seniors. For more information, visit , or follow @RiverbendCMHC on , (formerly known as Twitter), or .

Published: 5/5/2022 5:10:51 PM

Modified: 5/5/2022 5:09:20 PM

May is nationally recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month. Riverbend Mental Health hopes you’ll join them in celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month by attending one or all of the events being offered in May. There is so much to learn.

Magnify Voices: May 4, 5 to 7 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, Derry

Riverbend is pleased to be partnering with the NH Children’s System of Care to present Magnify Voices – an expressive arts contest – to the Tupelo Music Hall on May 4. NH CSoC started Magnify Voices in 2019 during Children’s Mental Health Awareness Month in May to highlight the inadequacies in the system that serves youth and families in N.H. Magnify Voices is part of a larger, national effort to recognize the vital importance of positive mental health for a child’s healthy development. Youth in middle and high school (grades 5 – 12) are invited to submit creative pieces about their experiences with mental health in New Hampshire. Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges with varied expertise according to their grade (5-8th and 9-12th). All creative pieces will be showcased to help raise awareness, erase stigma and effectuate change. Free registration includes complimentary food and beverage.

Learn more at tinyurl.com/magnifyvoices2022.

Wellness in the workplace: May 11, noon to 1 p.m., virtual

Join the NH Community Behavioral Health Association and its’ ten community mental health centers along with their respective chambers of commerce, for a presentation by Kim LaMontagne, President and CEO of Kim LaMontagne, LLC, International Speaker, Corporate Trainer, and Author. The 4 Pillars is a corporate training that teaches leaders how to create a ‘culture of safety’ in the workplace. A culture of safety is one where everyone feels safe speaking openly about mental health without fear of judgment, retribution, or job loss.

Registration can be found at nhcbha.org/events.

Donald Antrim: May 17, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord

Riverbend is excited to be partnering with Gibson’s Bookstore to bring Donald Antrim and his book, One Friday in April: A Story of Suicide and Survival, to Gibson’s in downtown Concord on May 17 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The New York Times describes One Friday in April as an “engrossing, necessary book — part memoir, part philosophical treatise — he argues that suicide is ‘a disease process, not an act or a choice.’ Those who suffer from mental illness and die by (or “of”) suicide do not take their own lives, Antrim says, but have their lives taken from them.”

Donald Antrim is the author of three novels, including Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World, and a memoir, The Afterlife. A regular contributor to The New Yorker, he has also been the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Grant and fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center at the New York Public Library. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

This event is free to the public. Purchase One Friday in April at Gibsonsbookstore.com.

Pizza fundraiser: May 17, all day

Enjoy some delicious food at Constantly Pizza at their Concord or Penacook locations and help support our efforts at 51°”Íű Mental Health. Thanks to the generous folks at Constantly Pizza, 20% of all sales on this day will be donated to Riverbend!

This is My Brave: May 25, 7 to 9 p.m., Bank of New Hampshire Stage

Riverbend is bringing This Is My Brave (a national non-profit Mental Health and Addiction Recovery storytelling event) to New Hampshire for the fourth year in a row this year and are ecstatic to share that we will once again be live at the Bank of N.H. Stage in Downtown Concord.

This Is My Brave is a storytelling event about what it’s like to live with a mental illness and the possibilities for success, with a goal of leaving the audience inspired should they themselves be struggling or know somebody who is. Stories are shared via original essay, poetry, music, dance, or even comedy.

The mission of This Is My Brave is to empower individuals to put their names and faces on their true stories of recovery from mental illness and addiction. The vision of This Is My Brave is to one day live in a world where we don’t have to call it “brave” to talk openly about mental illness. We’ll simply call it talking.

Tickets can be purchased at ccanh.com.

Download our Mental Health Awareness Month calendar here.