CVC participants carve a path to community mental health

The Center for a Vital Community at Sheridan College is an organization with the mission to bring Sheridan County community members together to discuss community well-being, community health, welfare, socioeconomic issues, and more. 

These discussions create initiatives with the intent to improve life in Sheridan for everyone.  

The CVC has created Study Circles as the main avenue to create the lasting change that communities need to thrive. According to the CVC Director Amy Albrecht, the intent of the CVC is to work behind the scenes; to create a dialogue that organizes and inspires change. Study Circles are only the beginning of the process for public dialogue and community improvement. 

The state of the county’s mental health shared the stage with COVID-19 in 2021, primarily due to the latter. Even before the onset of the virus into the psyche of the world, the National Institute of Mental Health states that in 2019, there were an estimated 51.5 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. with a mental illness. This number represented 20.6% of all U.S. adults in 2019, and Wyoming consistently ranks highest in the nation for suicide. 

According to Albrecht, mental health affects everyone in a community somehow. Whether through a relative, a fellow student, an employee, a friend or maybe even ourselves, the state of mental health and options for treatment affect the community as a whole. Albrecht told listeners of Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program the wounds and scars of mental health largely go unseen. 

The discussions held during the Study Circles focus on problems within Sheridan County, the actions that can be realistically taken to battle the problem and the processes that make those actions happen. The result of those discussions is action in the form of nonprofits or initiatives that will come to operate independently from the CVC. 

Albrecht shared the results from the CVC Study Circles that focused on mental health below.

A Mental Health Resource Center. This will be a website, an office space or building where people can visit virtually or in person to find information and advocates pertaining to mental health. 

A Mental Health Coalition. A workgroup of individuals in the community responsible for coordinating and evaluating the progress and success of improving mental health care in Sheridan County.

A Mental Health public awareness campaign with the goal to de-stigmatize mental health challenges among all of Sheridan County’s different walks of life. 

Establishing an Sheridan County affiliation of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. According to Albrecht, NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots organization devoted to improving the lives of people experiencing mental illness.

Initiatives focused on high schools that target awareness. This will include a campaign to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health, community events that help those students struggling with access to learn about mental health resources.

Creating a community network to check on students and children in crisis. Checking in on friends’ and families’ mental health regularly, much the same way many check in on each other’s physical health.

The initiatives will take time and no small amount of effort, Albrecht said. Any resident can become involved at any stage of the process. To become involved, call The Center for a Vital Community at 307-675-0831 or visit their website, here.