State Representative Katie Dempsey will be the keynote speaker at a public forum and training module aimed at preventing veteran suicides in Rome, Georgia. The event, titled “The Resilient Mind: Upstream Interventions to Prevent Veteran Suicide,” is being hosted by Highland Rivers Behavioral Health and will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, August 27, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Harvest Moon Cafe, located at 234 Broad St.

Dempsey, who represents Rome in the Georgia General Assembly, is a highly regarded mental health advocate and will deliver her remarks during the opening session. The event will focus on developing a collaborative system of community partners to support veterans’ needs before they may become desperate and consider self-harm.

Following lunch, Highland Rivers suicide prevention staff will facilitate a Community Resilience Model training that will focus on the social, economic, and environmental factors that foster community resiliency. The training aims to provide attendees with the tools and knowledge necessary to support veterans and their families.

The event is open to the public and free to attend, with lunch provided. Veterans, veteran-serving organizations, mental health and substance use treatment providers, human service agencies, local government leaders, and interested community members are encouraged to attend.

Those wishing to participate in the forum are asked to RSVP to Veterans@highlandrivers.org. The event is one of a series of similar community forums developed by Highland Rivers’ veteran services staff, funded in part by the agency’s Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant from the Veterans Administration.

In addition to community outreach and awareness, the grant provides enhanced case management and linkage to services for eligible veterans across Highland Rivers’ 13-county service area. The event’s organizers hope to create a stronger network of support for veterans and their families in the Rome community and beyond.