Dianna Huddleston is eager to share the services Aspire Indiana Health has to offer as a community mental health center.
Huddleston will be part of a panel at a joint meeting of the chamber of commerce for Zionsville and Westfield at noon Aug. 20 at Finley Creek Vineyards, 795 S. U.S. 421, Zionsville. The panel also includes Deidra Rausch, executive director of The Cabin Counseling & Resource Center, and Kassie Frazier of Sylvia’s Child Advocacy Center, Lebanon.
“Aspire Indiana Health is an independent nonprofit health care provider with more than a half-century of service to some of the most vulnerable Hoosiers,” Huddleston said. “We provide fully integrated, whole health services, including primary medical care, behavioral health and addictions services. Aspire also has a broad array of community programs to address social determinants of health, such as housing and employment.
“We are committed to being innovative thought-leaders in our market space while honoring our rich heritage of evidence-based health care practices as we evolve to meet the demanding needs of those we serve.”
Aspire has outpatient centers in Carmel, Noblesville and Lebanon.
Rausch said the panel will welcome questions from the audience in an informal, conversation-like format.
“My understanding is that the panel will provide a discussion focused on mental health and how we can navigate the current COVID-19 climate,” Rausch said.
Rausch said she plans on sharing a brief overview of The Cabin’s 21-year history, its services and also common themes it is seeing among children, teens and adults who are pursuing mental health services at its facility.
Sylvia’s Child Advocacy Center’s trained social workers conduct interviews with children who have alleged physical or sexual abuse or who have witnessed violence.
“I would like to talk about the isolation of the pandemic and the effect it has on our children in terms of abuse, not being able to reach out for help, and suicide rates increasing among high school students during COVID,” Frazier said.
Frazier also plans to discuss what Sylvia’s did to help combat feelings of isolation among youth.
“We do have a video we produced to help parents or adults recognize abuse during the pandemic,” she said.
The video is called “The ONE THING You Can Do to Protect Kids During Shelter-in-Place” on sylviascac.org.
“Our facility is very child-friendly,” Frazier said. “So, we like to get people here for a tour. It’s a lot easier than we explain it.”
Frazier said the opportunity to share what the program does helps in fundraising for Sylvia’s programs.
For more, visit westfield-chamber.org or zionsvillechamber.org.
