We have a great event coming up actually tomorrow.

So you got to be here.

You got to be part of it down at Howard Park in South Bend.

The mental health awareness of Michiana is putting on a family fun fair.

Let's talk to our friends here so we can hear all about it.

You guys are putting on this annual Fun family fair, right?

This is just a great thing that you're doing for the community.

Talk to us about what the event looks like.

So this is our fifth year of doing this event and the focus is on wellness and family fun.

So we have a wonderful array of kids activities and community vendor tables, food trucks, face painting.

And the idea is to try and work on eliminating stigma around mental health.

So we're promoting wellness, but it is also about mental well-being.

And we're trying to promote family fun.

I love that, and really it's for all ages, right?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And now talk to us a little bit about the importance of educating our community on mental health.

Yeah.

We want to make sure that people have the right information for making choices for them and for their children.

So we're doing a wellness event to offer resources for all ages.

I love that, and this event, it's being the fifth year.

How have you seen it grow?

I think that, there's been enthusiasm every year, but the last year, I think that the enthusiasm resulted in a lot more community coming out.

That's great.

That's great.

And now many vendors are coming out this year.

We have 30 vendors and wonderful, a mix of community organizations, health and mental health organizations.

I think we even have some daycares that are participating.

And so it's insurance companies.

It's really a lovely organization, lovely company.

And I think it's so important, especially when someone's in crisis.

If you know what those resources are, you can tap into them, hopefully even before crisis happens.

But I think even if somebody maybe isn't dealing with this in their own family, why is it important for them to attend this event?

So I think you're right that people want to know what to do if a loved one is struggling.

And so having the resources bone health, Oak Lawn, other organizations that are present.

The idea is that we give information to when people are not yet in crisis, when they might be struggling.

And if people know who to call, then that's going to be a first step.

And family members have a really important role in helping connect their loved ones with resources.

So we want to make sure the community knows what's available exactly so that if they aren't sure if somebody needs help, they know where to call.

Okay.

Okay.

Jen, when is it happening?

Yeah.

So it's Friday, May 30th from 4 to 6:30 p.m.. And along with the 30 vendors that we have, the organizations offering resources.

We also have food trucks that are going to be available.

But we also have a lot of fitness moments that we're going to be offering.

So it's for the entire family.

We're going to have for the children hula hooping and some jump roping, but we're also going to do some, tai tai chi and some drumming and some exercising, giving some tips for people for this summer fun.

So let's go create some events.

We'll also have, balloon twisting.

We're going to have some face painting.

Just lots of fun activities from children to adults.

The whole family will enjoy this event.

Friday, May 30th from 4 to 630.

I love it now I know, I'm sure the food trucks that you're going to have to pay for that, but this is a free event.

What's included with that?

Yeah.

So all the activity, first of all, the resources are free.

And then all of the activities from our craft, we have a craft table so they can make different, crafts to take home.

We'll have candy bags for the kids, but all of the fitness moments and all of the fun activities will be free.

Now we are offering for the food trucks for the first 100 people.

They'll be, coupons that they can use to get some of the things from Kona Ice.

We're going to have, Puerto Vallarta and then a bite with me, as well as we going to have a table of fresh fruits and vegetables that people can purchase.

So for no matter whether you want the greasy stuff or you want healthy, we'll have it available for you anywhere you get your journey.

So we'll have all of that available.

And the first 100 people will get coupons, but, they'll have, things priced at a reasonable price for everybody.

So you guys have the kids activities, you guys have the resources available, you have food here, you have face painting, which of course, any time your face painting my kids in.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, I know that life is going to be long too.

So the event is happening tomorrow, which is great on Friday.

Oh tell us more.

You know, really, what is your organization about?

So our organization Mental Health Awareness of Michiana is there are three things that we try to do.

One is to eliminate stigma around mental health and mental illness.

The second is around building collaboration.

And the third is removing barriers to mental health care.

Because we know that if somebody is struggling, we want to make sure they get the help that they need.

And how far out are you guys?

What's your coverage range?

So our primary areas are Saint Joe County, Elkhart County and Marshall County, but it's great.

Anybody who's struggling to access resources, we are happy to point them in the right direction.

Good, good.

And I think that's so important.

Again, talking back to that, you know, whenever you're in a crisis, it's kind of like who do I call?

Where do I go?

If I can get one number and they can help guide me exactly why, you know, why do we do that?

Why do we want to help people?

Well, we want people to function well in society and to be productive community members.

That's what everybody wants.

And we know that if people are struggling, it can be really hard to ask for help.

So we want to make that easier and that gives them a great opportunity here.

So even if you if you are struggling with some mental health concerns or you have a family member or friends, even this is a great way to kind of stop and see what's available in our community.

Again, you mentioned the wide range that you guys here have here across Michiana.

All the more reason for you to come on out and and take part in this activity, right?

Yeah.

So it's really a fun event okay.

It's fun.

This is a fun.

You get your day in the family fun fair.

Family fun fair okay.

This is fun to you.

You will learn things about the community.

There's wonderful things going on in the community.

And so this is a chance for us to highlight that, we have some special speakers, including the mayor.

Okay, great.

So Mayor Mueller will be coming.

Lynn Coleman will be coming and talking about his organization.

Let's started around, okay.

And then Juan from La Casa de Amistad is also going to be coming.

So we've got special speakers, we've got special activities.

We've had wonderful collaborators from the community participate in the planning for this.

So that's great to hear.

Yeah.

So everything that we do, we try and bring other organizations in because we know that the event is much better when we bring other organizations together.

Absolutely.

Especially when you bring in those community collaborators.

Scuse me.

That's just so tremendous.

When you guys can work together again for the betterment of all of us, right?

For sure, I love that.

Okay.

So where can people get more information about.

So on our website, which is MHA Michiana dot org go to our events section and there's more information available.

And then for the future, for anybody who maybe they can't make it out to this event, put it on your calendar for next year.

Don't forget to do that.

But where can they get resources?

What's their go to?

So our website, we we include a lot of resources on our website.

Certainly anybody's who's in crisis.

We encourage call 988 because they will also help direct you to resources.

That's great.

So there's a lot of information available online.

And and then our phone number is that we're located at One Roof southeast.

And so if you call the main number (574) 393-8809 extension three, you can always leave a message and we'll call back.

That's great.

That's great.

Thank you guys for doing something like this.

And it's so important to our community for those who maybe are dealing with some rough things right now, or maybe they will in the future, they have in the past and they want to figure out what can I do, how can I, how can I be my best self?

So thank you guys for doing this.

Absolutely.

Thank you for having us.