Archive

Valley High School has been a part of the wellness movement for a couple years here in Las Vegas but the stigma surrounding mental health has never gone away. Our principal, Ramona Esparza, found an amazing opportunity to partner with...

There is nothing more terrifying than seeing a wall of flames stretching from horizon to horizon, headed toward your home with voracious disregard for generations of toil, sweat, prayers and determination to make a life out of dirt, grass and...

I was eight when my wonderful, tall, partially-bald-with-scant-red-hair dad with a smile that could light up a room died. His illness had been part of our lives. Then, one day he couldn’t endure another heart attack. I remember being told...

Annika was a beautiful soul we were blessed to have in our lives. She was a straight-A student, a musician who played three instruments, an actress who was active in theatrical arts and, although she did not have a competitive...

It was the spring of 2009. I was preparing to graduate from college with my undergraduate degree when I received a phone call from my 19-year-old brother, Bobby. Looking back, I realize that phone call would mark the first notch...

August 23, 2011, is a day that I will never forget. It was the day my brother took his life by suicide. After battling depression for several years, it seemed to consume him on that Tuesday and we lost him...

My husband had his first panic attack in his late 40s when he was driving – alone – through a rural area on his way to a business meeting. He stopped at a rest area to get gas and a...

Aetna Behavioral Health is taking Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) everywhere the company has a reach – including behavioral health providers within its network, its internal employees and staff and the communities it serves. “It’s so important to bring MHFA...

If you ask Shelley Leaphart-Williams what drives her seven-year run as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, she’ll answer with one simple word: hope. In the United States, someone dies by suicide every 12.3 minutes, according to the  American Foundation...

Science has confirmed that addiction is a chronic brain disease that can happen to anyone. Despite this, there is still popular belief that addiction is the result of weak character or moral failing. We say that addiction should be looked...

Our oldest child, Jamie, died of a fentanyl overdose two years ago at the age of 27. We miss him every day and often reminisce and recall many fond memories of his life. As a toddler, he was incredibly spirited...

Men and women in the military are trained to protect themselves, their comrades and our country. In combat zones, service members live in a constant state of hyper-arousal, also known as “fight or flight.” There is no time for them...