Mental health fair this weekend

KELLOGG — The Silver Valley CARES group is hosting a mental health fair this Saturday where it will provide attendees with a little bit of everything as part of its quest to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health in rural Idaho.

Siobhan Curet is one of the founding members of Silver Valley CARES (SVC) — which stands for Community Advocates for Resilience and Emotional Support — a group whose mission is to support and promote mental health within Shoshone County, fostering resilience, compassion and emotional well-being.

The mental health fair will be a first-of-its-kind event in Shoshone County, which is something SVC aims to change over the coming years through several community partnerships.

The fair will feature more than 40 different exhibits, including several mental health resources, T-shirts and clothing, back-to-school haircuts, school supplies and food — all free for those who attend. There will also be signups for upcoming training opportunities that will be offered throughout the community, including ASIST (suicide intervention training), Alzheimer's and dementia training, and mental health first aid.

Many of these training opportunities provide the trainees with the ability to turn a potential tragedy into an intervention.

“In small communities, people can find themselves feeling isolated, which isn't the case here,” Curet said. “We have a lot of people here who want to help and make those connections for support in times of need. We have a good community.”

The fair is sponsored in part by businesses and groups throughout Shoshone County, as well as a partnership with the University of Idaho — which has set aside thousands of dollars for rural mental health groups such as SVC, throughout the state.

The Silver Valley CARES Mental Health Fair is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside Kellogg’s City Park.

For more information visit www.svcares.org.