ART 321 hosting first statewide Wellness Through the Arts Conference May 20-22
CASPER, Wyo — ART 321 will be hosting the first annual Health and Wellness Through the Arts Conference through the Arts May 20-22.
“We needed to respond somehow to an increase in health concerns for folks in Wyoming,” said ART 321 Executive Director Tyler Cessor. The conference will explore the “demonstrated impact of a continuum of arts in health programs, discuss current community grand challenges, and develop cross-sector partnerships between providers and artists,” according tot he announcement.
The schedule will be a mix of in-person and streamed presentations. Topics will include the impact of arts programs on reducing recidivism of at-risk youth, the mental health challenges faced by creatives, and how community health is measured.
The latter point is of particular interest to Cessor. “Whenever people talk about community development, everyone starts with economic development. And that’s incredibly frustrating.”
Cessor said the conference was a response to the Wyoming Department of Health’s State Health Assessment and trends in mental health that were only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Depression skyrocketed, there’s a lot of concern about what’s going to happen to community service providers when COVID finally settles down,” he said.
He said mental health providers have been “go go go” being of service during the pandemic.
“When they finally get time to reflect and settle down into their own emotion, the fallout is going to be huge,” he said.
Keynote speakers will include Dr. Lindsay Huse, Chief of Public Health Nursing, Wyoming Department of Health, Whitney Lamb from the Mercer House Family Resource Center, and Casper Vice Mayor Ray Pacheco.
The conference will begin with free youth mental health first aid training and certification provided by Mercer House Family Resource Center. The certification can be completed during a 2 hour self-paced online training before the conference and during a 5-hour onsite or virtual training beginning the conference on May 20th.
The fee is “pay-what-you-can,” and registration is available here.
The post ART 321 hosting first statewide Wellness Through the Arts Conference May 20-22 appeared first on Oil City News.