Alabama representatives to hold mental health awareness town hall

HUNTSVILLE — The public is invited to attend a town hall to discuss mental health awareness in the community Sept. 20 in the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library auditorium from 6-8 p.m.

Members of Alabama’s House of Representatives, Laura Hall (District 19) and Anthony Daniels (District 53), will sponsor the event. Both Hall and Daniels represent parts of Madison County in the Alabama House.

The featured speaker will be Jeremy Blair, CEO of WellStone. Blair will be present to discuss the services available to those in need of mental health support, as well as how to access those services.

According to their website, WellStone is a community nonprofit that serves clients in “every phase of life.” It was established in April 1969 as the Huntsville-Madison County Mental Health Board. After a couple rebrandings over the years, WellStone Behavioral Health merged with Mental Healthcare of Cullman in 2017 to become WellStone Inc.

Today, WellStone is North Alabama’s largest and most comprehensive behavioral health care provider with offices in Huntsville, Decatur and Cullman. They serve more than 10,000 clients a year who experience mental health or substance disorders or both. The Huntsville office is located at 4040 South Memorial Parkway.

The town hall slated for Sept. 20 comes during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and just days after World Suicide Prevention Day (Sept. 10), according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library auditorium is located at 915 Monroe St. in Huntsville near Huntsville Hospital and a host of other health and wellness facilities.

For more information, call the Madison County Legislative Office at 256-539-5441.