AmeriCorp Volunteers Hope To Bring Change To Mental Health

Over the past month, Valley County has had the pleasure to welcome two AmeriCorp volunteers to the community who will be working closely with the Valley C.A.R.E. Coalition to promote health and wellness throughout the area. Volunteers Emmaline "Em" Keesee and Sarah Schmidt have been working out of the Annex Building on 4th Ave. and closely with Katrena Palmer at Eastern Montana Community Mental Health to support the growth and longevity of the C.A.R.E. Coalition while also making plans to create a youth coalition to address mental health challenges.

Both volunteers are originally from rural communities, with Keesee from Urbanna, Va., and Schmidt from Darwin, Minn., so moving to the Middle of Nowhere to address mental health needs wasn't such a culture shock for them. After both recently graduated from college, they joined AmeriCorp as a way to try something new and gain hands-on experience, choosing to serve in the Glasgow area after completing orientation in Richland County at the beginning of September.

"I always knew Minnesota nice is a thing, but it certainly extends out here," stated Schmidt. "Everyone is so friendly!," echoed Keesee.

Keese recently graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health and Biology. Her main focus was studying policies in the public health sector and found rural health issues interesting. "Mental health falls through the cracks. It does not get paid attention to until there is a crisis and in most cases the issues that are being faced can be dealt with prior to the crisis occurring. There is a mental health gap in public health that needs to be filled," explained Keese on her interest in working on improving how mental health is viewed.

Keese decided to serve with AmeriCorp after making the decision to take a gap year between graduation and starting graduate school. "I feel lucky as AmeriCorp kept on going during COVID while other positions for new grads are getting cut. I always knew I wanted to be a part of a community organization," explained Keese.

Over the next year as she serves, she hopes to help the C.A.R.E. Coalition to achieve their goals while also growing the organization to allow any growth to be sustained over the future. She also hopes to improve the county's mental health resource accessibility and reduce stigma associated with mental health.

Her first objective in reaching this goal is helping to host the Mental Health Awareness Walk on Oct. 10, 10 a.m., which will start at Hoyt Park. She is also working on designing a website for the C.A.R.E. Coalition, putting together a bi-weekly newsletter, starting to compile resources and people associated with those resources in order to put together a guide for those who need it, standardize referral procedures and provide mental health first aid training for county residents. She is also organizing a community meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 5:30 p.m., at the Elks, to allow community members to provide input and learn what the coalition is about.

"Right now the hospital, Valley County Health Department, Glasgow Police, and Eastern MT Community Mental Health are all part of the coalition, but I would like to see it expanded out to businesses and key stakeholders," stated Keese.

Schmidt has always found mental health interesting and has a unique perspective as she saw first hand family members struggle with mental health. Graduating recently with her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Carthage College, in Kenosha, Wis., she wanted to try and narrow down the many opportunities provided to her with her biology degree and public health seemed to be the right choice. "I grew up doing service and being a part of the community is important to me. I want to leave a positive impact on the world around me," explained Schmidt on her reason for serving in the area.

Schmidt's focus over the next year will be to develop a youth coalition aimed to engage the youth in Valley County by increasing mental health awareness and promoting healthy choices. "They need to know and understand it's okay to ask for help," stated Schmidt. The hope with the youth coalition is to be able to create a safe space to allow youth to bring problems to the table and work together to create solutions. She will also be helping to organize local events, promote conversations among individuals, families and businesses, while also addressing mental health challenges in the schools and in the community.

"Having a network and peer support is important. Especially during the teenage years. Life is hard, but it does get better," explained Schmidt. "My ultimate goal is knowing that all Valley County students have a group and/or someone they can go to and be willing to work together to solve problems. If they are unable to solve it in the youth coalition, then be comfortable to bring it to the larger C.A.R.E. Coalition for assistance."

When their service to the community is over they both hope to keep what they achieve sustainable for not only the current generation but future generations of the community.

Both Schmidt and Keese welcome feedback from community members, and would love for people to reach out for recommendations and concerns. Schmidt can be contacted at 228-6331 or by e-mail [email protected], while Keese can be contacted at 228-6332 or by e-mail [email protected]. They also hope individuals and families attend the community meeting on Oct. 10 as they hold the main power to address mental health in those they love.