One evening, as my co-leader and I closed a group meeting for family caregivers, I reminded those in attendance that one of the major benefits of participation in any support group is the opportunity it creates to simply check in with ourselves on a regular basis— to pause, to listen to our own thoughts and feelings and experiences, and to give voice to them— when that is often the one thing there is not time for in the midst of the sometimes all-consuming experience of caregiving itself. “Oh!” said one man in attendance, “It’s like the line in that song: ‘I just dropped in the see what condition my condition was in.’”

NAMI Gorge, the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is looking for a physical location to host a monthly support group for family and friends of those struggling with mental illness.

In what White Salmon Valley School District Superintendent Rich Polkinghorn called a timely report, the District presented to the board a breakdown of how the district addresses youth and teen suicide. The report came in the wake of a recent teen suicide at neighboring Hood River Valley High School, where Polkinghorn had once been a teacher and principal.

Monique Adams, LCSW, CADC from MCMC gives some therapist-grade advice to help you get through the holidays, especially if you have a pre-existing mental health condition, are newly divorced, grieving, are LGBTQ, or have estranged family.

LPSCC has submitted a $50,000 grant proposal to the Oregon Health Authority to pay planning costs of a Columbia Gorge Resolution Center. The Resolution Center would lower mental and behavioral health related incarcerations and improve access to mental and behavioral health services in the Wasco, Sherman, and Hood River Counties.

David Sendejas, 28, Keith Bright, 28 and Chance Sendejas, 26, said it was pretty cold last night. Temperatures dropped a couple of degrees below freezing. The houseless men were resting on Pentland Street next to The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce this morning, Tuesday, Oct. 27. Dalles City Council held a workshop on Monday night bringing in voices from three different counties to discuss the current status of the houseless and those needing mental health assistance.