Mental Health

A collection of mental health news and resources.

Brooklyn Park initiative offers alternative to police response to mental health crisis calls
The Brooklyn Park Police Department partnered with Hennepin County and North Memorial Health to launch a mental health Alternative Response Team which consists of a social worker and a paramedic who can handle calls police officers may not need to respond to.
Soul doctors: How Minnesota chaplains’ roles are changing
They’re the people who show up at some of the worst moments of our lives. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with three chaplains about helping Minnesotans through pain and suffering as society becomes both less religious and more religiously diverse. 
Climate change and seasonal affective disorder
While SAD is most associated with winter, the heat and humidity of the summer months can also bring on a gloomy mood called summer-pattern SAD or summer depression.
‘Like a chain reaction’: UW-River Falls grappling with fourth student death in 2 months
The university is treating the four deaths as a suicide cluster and working to support its community and prevent further deaths ahead of its roughly 5,000 students returning for classes on Jan. 22.
As mental health worries rise for Black Minnesotans, focus shifts to strengthening kids, caregivers
The well-being of young children and their caregivers is closely connected, and children struggle when adults struggle. For Black Minnesota kids and their families, poverty and racism compound those problems. Charting a path forward includes preparing kids for a “harsh world,” one expert says.
9 ways to get healthier in 2024 without trying very hard
Last year, NPR's health reporters dug into the science of healthy living. Here are nine things they learned that can help you embrace small shifts with big payoffs in the year ahead.
‘Red flag’ gun removal orders become new option in Minnesota in 2024
Earlier this year, the DFL-led Legislature approved the policy that will let a person petition the court to remove a firearm from another individual if they pose an extreme risk. It starts Jan. 1.
St. Cloud mental health center aims to be a bridge to healing
Ali Aden and Lul Nur moved from the Twin Cities more than a year ago to provide culturally specific mental health services for the East African community, which St. Cloud lacked.