Learn About Mental Health and the Stigmas that Surround the Topic During the U.P. Rural Health Town Hall

The next Upper Peninsula Rural Health Town Hall will broadcast live tomorrow. This month the program is expected to talk about a popular topic that affects a large amount of people…mental health. One of the program’s leaders, Steven Elmer from the Michigan Tech University Department of Kinesiology, says that breaking down stigmas and introducing the topic to the communities of the Upper Peninsula, can be difficult. And discussing how mental health and well being affect different populations, and demographics can open opportunities for genuine conversations around the topic.

“A lot of times there’s a stigma associated with taht, maybe compared to if someone has something like high blood pressure for example, or heart disease. But it’s much more prevelent than we think about. One in five adults are dealing with some a mental health illness or disorder. And about 50% of U.S. adults, during their life time, will deal with a mental health issue. So, really the purpose of the town hall is to increase awareness in general. What it is. And then importantly, on the well being side, how can we cope. Or how can we manage it in our day-to-day lives.” – Steven Elmer, Associate Professor, MTU Department of Kinesioloy and Integrative Physiology

Tomorrow broadcast of the U. P. Rural Health Town Hall can be heard on the radio. Or tune in to the program online, through a Facebook live link. If you miss tomorrow evening’s 7 pm talk, the program will be re broadcasted on our station this Sunday, at 12, noon. Learn about mental health and breaking down the stigma, tomorrow night.

97.7 The Wolf, 98.7 The Rocking Eagle, 105.7 Eagle Country, and 107.7 WMQT tomorrow evening at 7pm. The broadcast can be found here online. And the show will be re-broadcast on ABC 10 UP this Sunday at 12 pm, noon.