DOWNINGTOWN, PA — On Tuesday, December 7, the Downingtown Area School District will partner with the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) to host a free, district-wide mental health event called “Let’s Talk About It.” The program is set to raise community awareness and to empower its residents with tools to support at-risk youth. Students, parents and community members are encouraged to participate in the event, which is sponsored by West Pharmaceutical Services.
The evening will begin with a complimentary dinner for all attendees, followed by a community resource fair where local mental health agencies will provide information about available services. Attendees will hear from nationally-recognized keynote speaker, Dr. Dan Reidenberg, and will participate in both adult and youth panels.
Director of Pupil Services, Meghan Dennis, noted the importance of the entire school communities’ involvement, “Downingtown Area School District believes in the importance of education and community partnership in supporting of our students’ mental health. We have excellent staff that are trained in counseling, social work and mental health. We also have identified research-based instructional resources to support proactive and preventative mental health measures. Additionally, we offer many clubs and programs to foster students’ growth and wellbeing. We believe that community partnership is a necessary key to our students’ mental health.”
The event is open to the public and is designed to provide knowledge, understanding and answers to our communities’ questions. Superintendent, Dr. Emilie Lonardi noted, “The past two years have been increasingly challenging for our school community. Parents, our community and our schools must continue to work together to support our children. Mental health is every bit as important as physical health, and we invite our entire school community to join us on the seventh.”
“Let’s Talk About It” will take place on Tuesday, December 7 with dinner beginning at 5:00 p.m. The event will take place in-person at west School West (445 Manor Avenue, Downingtown, PA 19335). To attend, guests must pre-register at www.dasd.org/2021Save.
To learn more about how Downingtown Area School District supports mental health, visit www.dasd.org/mentalhealth.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News.