On Feb. 8, Health in the Park (HIP) will be holding a meeting to discuss mental health. Meteorologist Ken Barlow will speak about his bipolar disorder and the community will discuss the stigma of mental health in general.

This meeting is an important step toward a healthier community. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an organization with which HIP partnered, of Minnesota’s approximately 5.2 million residents, close to 168,000 adults live with serious mental illness and about 56,000 children live with serious mental health conditions.

This is an indicator that more action must be taken to support these people that live among us and help reduce the amount of mental illness prevalent in Minnesota.

The meeting is strongly focusing on the stigma surrounding mental illness. This is important and a beneficial aspect of the meeting, because according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the “stigma poses a barrier for public health primary prevention efforts designed to minimize the onset of mental illness, as well as with secondary prevention efforts aimed at promoting early treatment to prevent worsening of symptoms over time.”

If the community as a whole is able to pinpoint how to reduce the stigma, other more thorough action can be taken to cure these illnesses. People’s preconceptions, or negative views toward mental illness are inhibiting those with the medical knowledge to help these individuals.

This is further shown with the statistic that “only about 20% of adults with a diagnosable mental disorder or with a self-reported mental health condition saw a mental health provider in the previous year” according to CDC, and the stigma contributes to this.

The mental health meeting is a push for the spreading of awareness concerning mental illness. While it is not directly curing anyone or providing direct help, it will hopefully make the jobs of those who can a lot easier and make those suffering from mental illness more inclined to seek help.

Together, it is important we support those struggling with their mental health and attend this meeting where we can move forward in creating a healthier and more accepting community.