MOSES LAKE — A workshop with information about mental illness, and resources available to people dealing with it, is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at the ATEC building at Big Bend Community College. The workshop is sponsored by the Samaritan Healthcare Community Foundation.

Foundation director Gretchen Youngren said the workshops will cover mental health issues and resources from kids to senior citizens. Separate sessions, each about 30 minutes, will cover challenges and resources for children and teens, young adults and adults and seniors.

Each session will be presented three times, so that people can attend all sessions. Each will include people who are meeting the challenges presented by mental illness. “It’s an active everyday condition that people are living with,” Youngren said.

A question-and-answer session is scheduled for about 6:40 p.m.

Admission is free but seating is limited, so advance registration is requested. People can register at the Samaritan website, www.samaritanhealthcare.com, or by calling 509-793-9645.

Youngren said she’s learned a lot about mental illness, mental health and treatment in her job with Samaritan. “We have seen a growing number of mental health issues” in Moses Lake and Grant County, Youngren said. “And there’s no better time than now to start to address it.”

Dale and Patti Paris and their son Tyler will be keynote speakers. Tyler Paris started experiencing symptoms at about 18 years of age, and eventually was diagnosed as bipolar.

There will be information about “Promise for Tomorrow,” a suicide awareness group at Moses Lake High School. Physician Andrea Carter will talk about mental health issues for older people. Mike Williams, a captain with the Moses Lake Police Department, will talk about the training given to law enforcement officers to help them deal with people having a mental health crisis. State representative Tom Dent will discuss funding for mental health services. Grant Integrated Services employees will talk about programs available through their agency. Other speakers include Jon Lane and nurse-practitioner Jodi O'Shea.

One of the lessons the Paris family told her they learned, Youngren said, is that “you can’t go through this alone.” She said one of the goals of the evening is to make sure people know what support and resources are available to them.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].