Join us for our upcoming event, Courageous Conversations: Breaking the Stigma of Mental Health, with presenting sponsor NAACP Vancouver.
The event is free and will feature a candid conversation with Antonio Salazar-Hobson, a renowned author, lawyer and mental health advocate. Vancouver City Councilwoman Diana Perez will serve as emcee.
Salazar-Hobson will discuss his personal story, which explores his life as a migrant farmworker, kidnapped at age 4, and trafficked through age 10 at a famous California ranch until being saved from an attempted suicide and taken under Cesar Chavez’s wing.
We will also explore preconceptions and stigmas around mental health and why diverse voices in mental health storytelling are so important.
Broadening Perspectives on Mental Health
In telling his story, Salazar-Hobson aims to offer hope in desperate circumstances by sharing the legacy of his family, and reflecting on the dignity and sacrifices of their difficult Chicano life. Salazar-Hobson’s unique story of strength and resilience provides an enduring example of hope to a large audience, and a model for abused and trafficked children so that they can survive and protect their own ability to love.
Stories and open discussions about mental health bring to light mental health-related issues and how they appear in everyday life. Listening to others’ experiences serves as the initial step toward positive change. Actively engaging in listening to others’ stories with the aim of fostering empathy and personal development can spark conversations about challenges faced, and broaden our perspectives on mental health.
“For far too long, people have been ashamed to talk about their mental health or substance-use struggles, keeping them secret or not seeking treatment out of fear of being judged, ridiculed or losing their job or family,” said Columbia River CEO Victor Jackson. “The shame and fear have to stop for our community to heal. It is critical to start the conversation and keep it going.”
By investing in, and attending, Columbia River’s Courageous Conversations event, you’re supporting this important dialogue.
Join us at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25 at Clark College’s Gaiser Hall and help start a conversation to break mental health stigmas today.
For more information on tickets and sponsorship opportunities, visit our event site.
