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Arts and Entertainment: 2013 Cedar Key Art Festival Full of Hearts and Winners
April 15th, 2013

Obituaries: Herbert Harlan Holman
April 13th, 2013

Conservation: Fish of the Week: Bonnethead Shark
April 13th, 2013

Announcements: Cedar Key Water System Improvements Underway
April 12th, 2013

News: Prepare to be boarded !!!
April 12th, 2013

School News: Shark News 4/10
April 11th, 2013

News: Arbor Day 2013 - Cedar Key, Florida
April 10th, 2013

Law Enforcement News: Levy County Arrest Report 4/08/2013
April 10th, 2013

Obituaries: James W. Bishop
April 9th, 2013

Announcements: STREET CLOSING FOR The Old Florida Celebration of the Arts - April 12-14, 2013
April 9th, 2013

Obituaries: THOMAS GRADY McLEOD, SR
April 8th, 2013

Library: Office Hours with a Representative of Senator Bill Nelson
April 8th, 2013

City News: COMMISSION MEETS: PEDESTRIAN PATHWAY, HISTORIC DISTRICT DISCUSSED
April 6th, 2013

School News: Shark News 4/5 (Part 1)
April 5th, 2013

School News: Shark News 4/5 (Part 2)
April 5th, 2013

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WHAT TO DO FOR A YOUTH IN CRISIS?

WHAT TO DO FOR A YOUTH IN CRISIS?

by CKN Staff Reporter

Last Monday twenty-four individuals learned specifically what to do. They learned how to: recognize a mental health crisis in young people, select and provide interventions for initial help, and connect the them to the care they need.

For the first time, the Cedar Key Library was the site of a workshop designed to aid youths from ages 12 to 18 experiencing mental health challenges or crises. Last Monday`s workshop was designed for adults and older adolescents who regularly interact with youths. At the gathering were police, public safety employees, students, parents, Healthy Start representatives, a city commissioner, and others to total 24 individuals. These participants paid a fee to cover materials and books. A generous community supporter provided a lunch for the group.

First on the agenda were the warning signs and risk factors likely to accompany youth`s mental health challenges; anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and disruptive behaviors cite but a few. Participants learned a five-step plan designed to support a troubled adolescent.

After spending the morning interacting in the seminar, one participant told the Cedar Key News reporter,"I love it. I feel more enlightened now." Cedar Key resident and Levy County Health Department Healy Start staff member Star Pope remarked, "This training is much needed learning for our community. The strategies we are leaning in this workshop need to start at home. Our community has many needs." Another participant stated, "I see these warning signs every day in my job and often at home in my town; I`m grateful to know more about how to handle them."

The workshop was presented by the not-for-profit Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Inc.`s Joe Munson, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC. Dr. Munson, who as a nineteen-year-old volunteered at a crisis center and found it meaningful, never left the field of public mental health. His mission is to progressively build "community gatekeepers" who with the skills learned at workshops like today "will keep communities healthier and safer."

Commissioner Colson, who saw the need for this program after the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2013, hopes to have another workshop soon that will cover similar problems involving adults.


Presenter Dr. Joe Munson and Workshop Participant Chloe Reynolds

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Cedar Key News

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