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The Lowndes County District Association is preparing to host a health and wellness summit in March. The event, hosted by Baptist Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Lowndesboro, is aimed at providing community members the help needed to address mental health concerns.

According to Dr. J.C. Coleman, association moderator and pastor at Baptist Hill, the association is composed of 15 Missionary Baptist Churches, working together to serve the community. While considering how congregations might further serve outside the church walls, Coleman said after assessing community needs, association leaders determined health, wellness and mental health to be among the highest area needs.

“I work in mental health,” he said. “I thought this would be a good place to start towards helping out people try to get a good understanding of where they can get help and services to try to dispel some of the myths and stigma [surrounding] mental health and mental illness.”

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and will include vendors with information about health, wellness and mental health alongside health screenings. 

“We’re going to have different agencies talking about resources they offer for mental health and drug addiction,” Coleman said. “We’ll have some people who are actually in recovery, to speak about their journey. We’re looking forward to having a good time.”

Coleman said Lowndes County Probate Judge LaShandra Myrick will speak on the commitment process through the Alabama Department of Mental Health. As a mental health and family therapist for the Montgomery Probate Court, Coleman said he understands that families need better access to information on the commitment process.

“Oftentimes people don’t understand what the commitment process is,” Coleman said. “They think that if a person is having a mental health episode, then they need to be committed. That’s not necessarily the case.”

For more information about the event, follow the Lowndes County District Association or Baptist Hill Missionary Baptist Church on social media.