Hope4Orem is a nonprofit organization that was created to help schools in Orem connect with and implement Hope Squads or other suicide prevention programs. The goal is to get a suicide prevention program into every school in the city as a way to teach and support kids and to, ultimately, prevent suicide. The organization also hosts annual community outreach events that promote suicide awareness.

Everyone is welcome and there is no cost to attend the wellness fair. More than 30 mental health organizations will be on hand under one roof to share important resources and guidance about taking care of mental health. Some of these include National Alliance on Mental Illness, United Way, Hope4Utah, Centro Hispano, Communities that Care and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Free mental health assessments will be available.

The event will also feature food trucks and live music. So, not only will the wellness fair be educational and helpful, it will be fun and uplifting as well. “We are bringing other fun things to help make the evening memorable,” said Cathy Ambrose, Hope4Orem executive director. “We will have Cosmo there and face painters. Hope4Orem will also have games and swag.”

This is Hope4Orem’s sixth annual community event. “While we’ve had some fabulous events, we realized we weren’t providing much of an opportunity for connection through conversation,” Ambrose said. “We hope by having multiple mental health organizations together in the same place at the same time, we can foster these much-needed connections and help local families and individuals find resources to help them in their mental health journey.”

This event comes at a perfect time. Kids are going back to school, which can be stressful. National Suicide Prevention Week is coming up in September. Mental health is on everyone’s minds as we are realizing more and more how important it is to practice daily self-care and watch out for others who may be struggling. The Community Mental Wellness Fair is just what we all need to help us to improve — or begin — our positive mental health practices.