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Thanks, Local Advisory Council on Mental Health

To the editor:

I would like to take this time to thank the Local Advisory Council on Mental Health for the wonderful presentation by Cmdr. Dave Borchert last Monday at their Brown Bag luncheon presentation.

The Local Advisory Council (LAC) works very hard to make sure that everyone knows it is okay to talk about mental illness. Mental Illness is not a defect or the result of something you did “wrong”. It is a disease, just like any other disease. It affects one out of five people and in any given year is more common than cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. It does not discriminate based on age, gender, or socio-economic status. It can strike young and old alike and is not a natural part of aging. Sadly, despite how common it is, many people do not seek treatment. The LAC wants people to know is not something to be embarrassed or ashamed of. It is a disease. Just like many other diseases, it affects not only the person who has it, but the entire family. In Brown County we are very lucky because we have many wonderful resources and options for treatment in our community and places to go for help. The LAC can help make you aware of those resources.

The Local Advisory Council (LAC) puts on many wonderful presentations, like the one they did last Monday, to raise awareness on Mental illness in our community and to make it okay for the person who suffers (and their family members) to seek help and to talk about it. Their next presentation will be Monday, Oct. 23 when Jolene Hanson will be presenting on SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) at 12:30 p.m.in the lower level of the New Ulm Public Library. We would strongly encourage the public to attend.

Again, I appreciate the wonderful resources we have available in Brown County and, the amazing work done by the Local Advisory Council (LAC) who works so hard to assure that everyone knows that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and it is “okay” to talk about.

For more information on the LAC please call Mary Enander at (507) 359-6516.

Julie Van Name

New Ulm

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