Northland Healthy Minds Holds Training to Teach About Mental Illness

Northland Healthy Minds held the "Make it Ok" ambassador training where the community came out to learn tips and tools for how to talk about mental illness in an effort to change the stigma around it. 

Northland Healthy Minds Coordinator Shannon Sweeney Jorgenson says this is important to make sure people feel comfortable seeking treatment.

"Very often people avoid seeking treatment for their mental illnesses, and that's largely due to stigma, and so if we can normalize the conversation, and make it okay to talk about mental illness, we find that people have better results and are better able to deal with their mental illnesses," said Sweeney Jorgenson. 

Over 700 people die by suicide each year in Minnesota, and Sweeney Jorgenson believes all of those deaths are preventable.