Notes to editors/reporters:
- Cameras will be allowed to film inside Harris-Stowe State University, Early Childhood and Parenting Education Center, starting at 10:30 a.m.
- Representatives will be available for pull-asides prior to and after the event.
St. Louis, MO – On Thursday, state, local and national leaders in suicide prevention and behavioral health, including Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and U.S. Health and Human Services Region Director Joseph Palm, will meet at Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) to discuss youth and young adult mental health. They will also be discussing the first year of the transition to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and how it’s impacting Missourians. A student-led pep rally and mental health information fair will follow the discussion.
WHO:
- Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe
- U.S. Health and Human Services Region Director (Region 7) Joseph Palm
- Dr. Cammie Conner, Director of Counseling and Prevention Services, Harris Stowe State University
- Monica Johnson, Director of the 988 and Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the federal agency that oversees the 988 Lifeline
- Tia Dole, Chief 988 Lifeline Officer at Vibrant Emotional Health, the 988 Lifeline national network administrator
- Nora Bock, Director of Behavioral Health, Missouri Department of Mental Health
- Dr. Bart Andrews, Chief Clinical Officer, Behavioral Health Response
- Dr. Sean Joe, Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis
- Students and representatives from HSSU
WHEN: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 11:00 a.m. Central Time
- 10:30 a.m. Representatives available for one-on-one media pull-asides
- 11:00 a.m. Roundtable discussion begins
- 12:00 p.m. Mental health pep rally begins
- 12:30 p.m. Additional time for pull-asides
WHERE: Harris-Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Ave., St. Louis, MO 63103. Signage will be provided to guide members of the media to the roundtable.
Please RSVP and send any questions to Dani Bennett via email at Danielle.Bennett@samhsa.hhs.gov.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.