WARSAW — In the first of two special events this month celebrating mental health awareness month, The Gathering Place will host a Mental Health Provider Resource Fair Wednesday night.

Seven counseling services will participate.

The program begins at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour and is followed by The Wired Experience, an interactive event that gives participants a safe, honest space to talk about mental health without judgment.

The Wired Experience is operated by RemedyLive, which provides a text-to-chat service 24/7 for those who need to address mental health issues.

Wednesday night's program will involve an opportunity to respond to broad questions anonymously and then see cumulative responses posted on a screen.

Part of the idea is to show that folks are not alone in the way they are feeling, said Mikaela Bixler, the community health coordinator with the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory's CARES Program.

"We want people to be able to come in, get some food, just chat with people and be able to talk with all these different mental health providers just so they know where they can get help in the community if they need it," Bixler said.

Bixler worked on the program with Brooke Skeans, the development director for Fellowship Missions, which operates The Gathering Place.

Sponsors for Wednesday night's resource fair include CARES, Allendale Behavioral Health, Live Well Kosciusko, Bowen Health and Fellowship Missions.

The Gathering Place is at 123 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw.

On May 28, two speakers with the National Alliance for Mental Illness will speak at The Gathering Place.

Both events are free and open to the public

"We want people to be able to come in, get some food, just chat with people and be able to talk with all these different mental health providers just so they know where they can get help in the community if they need it," Bixler said.

Weekly NAMI support groups for peers living with mental illness and for their families have already begun.

"It can be difficult for people to say, 'I'm not OK' or 'I need help,' " Bixler said.

Numerous downtown retailers have highlighted mental health awareness month wth messages in their storefronts.

Organizers said that that kind of support, along with numerous forms of collaboration, is helping break down barriers.

"I think part of it is breaking down stigma. It's OK to say, 'Hi, I have a mental illness and I'm going to come to this public group and we're going to talk about supporting each other,' " Skeans said.

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