CI Nursing Program
Camarillo, Calif., Nov. 16, 2016 — Social stigma should not prevent people from getting screened for mental illness so that proper treatment can follow.
Recognizing, diagnosing and getting help for mental illness is the goal of the Second Annual Frances Huggins Community Clinic Mental Health Fair from 1:30 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 19 at 840 South G Street in Oxnard.
The fair is sponsored by the CSU Channel Islands (CI) Nursing program and the St. Paul Family Life Center C.O.P.I.N.G. (Community Outreach Providing Information for Networking and Growth) Program.
“Like any other part of the body, the brain gets sick,” said Assistant Professor of Nursing LaSonya Davis-Smith, DNP, FNP. “It’s important we have mental health, but there are stigmas and taboos associated with mental illness. We are trying to tear down those barriers.”
Free to the public, the fair will be held in and around the Frances Huggins Community Clinic, an old trailer that nursing students transformed into a free clinic.
The fair will offer depression and anxiety screening from CI nursing, psychology and health science students as well as information about where to get help. Spanish translators will be on hand for those who need them.
Guest speakers will discuss mental illness, its causes, effects, treatment and other aspects of an area often poorly understood in those with few economic resources who may lack access to mental health information or care.
Art therapy and mediation will be available for kids as well as therapy dogs who will wag their way around visitors.
Ballet Folklorico will entertain because “music and dance are ways to relieve stress and improve mental health,” Davis-Smith said.
Guests may also “shop” at a Street Store offering donated clothing and individual changing areas for participants to try on clothing and select what they like. Davis-Smith said the Street Store is a way to give more choice to those who may have few in their everyday lives.
Finally, the fair will offer information on prevention, something just as crucial for the mind as for the body.
“You can learn to identify steps you can take in your life to reduce stress,” Davis-Smith said. “You may not be able to change your circumstances, but you can change how your respond.”
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