The Mental Wellness Campaign for Anoka County, Anoka County Community Health and Environmental Services and Anoka-Ramsey Community College Counseling and Student Activities departments have collaborated to offer  free, public mental wellness events: Oct. 21, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3 to 4:30 p.m., at the college’s Coon Rapids Campus; Oct 28, 1:30 to 3 p.m., at the Cambridge Campus.

The featured speaker at these event will be Pulitzer Prize nominee, Marya Hornbacher, author of several books including, “Madness: A Bipolar Life” and “Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia.” More information about Hornbacher is available at www.maryahornbacher.com.

Attendees will also be able to obtain information from local area mental health agencies and participate in a free screening for possible symptoms of Depression, Mood Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Post Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) and Eating Disorders.

"The Mental Wellness Campaign's primary mission is to educate our community about the importance of taking care of our mental health as well as our physical health,” says Donna McDonald, Violence Prevention Coordinator, Alliance for a Violence Free Anoka County. “Partnering with Anoka-Ramsey Community College is a unique opportunity to provide a forum for education and networking about mental health for both students and the public."

More about Student Mental Health in Minnesota

A Boynton Health Center Survey in 2007 reported that:

• 30 percent of students report an inability to manage their stress levels 
• 20 percent of these students report they were diagnosed with depression within the last 12 months
• 4.9 percent of students overall report having been diagnosed with a serious mental illness within the past 12 months

“We are an institution of education, and we recognize the need to create a greater awareness of mental health,” says Anoka-Ramsey Counselor, MaryAnn Larios. “This collective effort is an effective way to provide some education about mental health.”

For more information about this event, please contact Anoka-Ramsey Community College counselors: MaryAnn Larios (Coon Rapids) at 763-433-1319 or Maryann.Larios@anokaramsey.edu ; Nancy Elk (Coon Rapids) at 763-433-1339 or Nancy.Elk@anokaramsey.edu ; or Isabelle Schmidt (Cambridge) at 763-433-1844 or Isabelle.Schmidt@anokaramsey.edu.

Pulitzer Prize nominee, Marya Hornbacher, author of several books including, “Madness: A Bipolar Life” and “Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia” will appear at Anoka-Ramsey Community College Mental Wellness events, Oct. 21, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the college’s Coon Rapids Campus, and Oct 28, 1:30 to 3 p.m., at the Cambridge Campus.