Mental Health and Community Wellness Workshops Scheduled for the SW Region
March 10, 2026
Submitted by Elaine Johannes
Mental Health and Community Wellness Workshops Scheduled for the SW Region
Extension agents, their partners, and extension specialists, are invited to attend one of four workshops being held in the southwest region to support community-level response to ag-related stress and mental health issues.
Inspired by extension’s work with the southwest region groundwater management district, the workshops will focus on the development of practical helping skills (COMET, Changing our Mental and Emotional Trajectory), increased understanding of ag-related stress (Weathering the Storm in Agriculture) and action planning for anticipated increases in mental and emotional distress that can accompany uncertainty within the agriculture industry and the communities that rely on it.
This information and skills workshop is presented by members of extension’s Stress & Resiliency transdisciplinary team, who have training and experience in suicide response and prevention, but who are not clinicians. The material covered in the Mental Health and Community Wellness workshops is not for diagnostic or treatment purposes, and each session is limited to 15 Extension professionals and their partners who are interested in putting their knowledge to work.
Sessions will be held:
- April 13 (10am-3pm; lunch provided) in Cimarron. Register by April 6.
- April 23 (10am-3pm; lunch provided) in Garden City. Register by April 23.
- April 24 (10am-3pm; lunch provided) in Ulysses. Register by April 17.
- April 27 (10am-3pm; lunch provided) in Elkhart. Register by April 20.
Extension professionals and extension partners (such board and PDC members, coalition and co-op
representatives, network leaders) should use this code to register:
Once registered specific locations of the workshops and pre-workshop resources will be provided. Following this series in April, similar workshops will be offered in other regions.
If you have questions, contact:
Monica Walker (monicawalker@ksu.edu); Ulysses
Rachael Clews (rclews@ksu.edu); Garden City
Sharon Erickson-Fryback (sharone@ksu.edu); Cimarron
Crystal Bashford (cbashfor@ksu.edu); Elkhart
Wadona Henson (wlhenson@ksu.edu); Meade
Elaine Johannes (ejohanne@ksu.edu); state Extension
