Los Alamos County offers mental health awareness events throughout May

A resident facing a crisis does not need to wait for May to ask for help. Los Alamos County’s crisis-resource materials point people to 988, the New Mexico Crisis and Access Hotline at 1-855-662-7474, and the Social Services Office at 505-662-8068 at 1183 Diamond Drive, Suite E, a reminder that the county’s mental-health work is meant to function as a real support system, not a symbolic observance. That same approach shapes the county’s May lineup for Mental Health Awareness Month, which offers three very different ways to build skill, reduce stress, and strengthen the local response network.

The timing matters because the county has been pushing this work as a strategic priority, not an afterthought. In its 2023 Strategic Leadership Plan, Los Alamos County placed Health, Wellbeing, and Social Services among its priorities and tied that work to improving access to behavioral, mental, and physical health services. The county’s 2024 Comprehensive Health Plan goes further, saying that improving access to and quality of mental health and substance use services is of utmost importance and that coordination with courts, police, EMTs, nonprofits, and providers is part of the solution. The three May events reflect that broader effort by giving residents multiple entry points, whether they want a quick introduction, a restorative community activity, or a full certification course.

ABC Suicide Prevention Training

The month opens with a 90-minute ABC Suicide Prevention Training on Monday, May 4, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at Mesa Public Library. Led by Kristine Coblentz, the session is designed as an introductory training that helps participants recognize suicide risk and respond in a practical, informed way. For a community that has spent years discussing how to strengthen behavioral-health access, that kind of front-line awareness can matter just as much as a formal referral pathway.

This is the kind of class that reaches beyond social workers and clinicians. Parents, teachers, coaches, faith leaders, and co-workers are often the first people to notice when someone’s mood, language, or behavior changes, and Los Alamos County’s planning documents make clear that the local response network depends on more than a single agency. The county’s behavioral-health exploratory report was created to identify gaps in the needs of people living and working here, which is a sign that the demand is real and that local agencies are still trying to close those gaps with training, outreach, and coordination.

The larger national context also gives the session extra weight. Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in the United States since 1949, and NAMI’s 2026 theme centers on reducing stigma and building community support. In a town where people often know one another through schools, neighborhood groups, or LANL-related circles, a short training like this can turn everyday familiarity into a more effective safety net. It offers a practical skill set for moments when someone needs a calm, informed response rather than uncertainty or silence.

Guided Forest Bathing Experience

Mid-month, the county takes a different route with a Guided Forest Bathing Experience on Sunday, May 17, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Mesa Public Library. The program is described as a gentle guided walk intended to reduce stress and restore wellbeing, which makes it the most low-pressure offering in the county’s May lineup. It also broadens the meaning of mental-health outreach by acknowledging that not every useful intervention has to start with a classroom or a crisis.

That distinction matters in Los Alamos, where many people carry stressful jobs, caregiving responsibilities, or the strain of trying to stay resilient in a high-expectation environment. A nature-based program gives residents a different kind of access point, one that may appeal to people who are not ready for a formal training but still need a structured way to reset. The county’s emphasis on multiple entry points recognizes that mental-health support works best when it meets people where they are, rather than assuming one format fits everyone.

It also reflects a broader public-health logic. The county’s social-services work does not stop at crisis response or benefits navigation, but connects people to a wide range of assistance, including physical and behavioral-health referrals. A restorative walk may look modest compared with a certification course, yet in a community that is trying to build a stronger local response network, even a calm, guided hour can serve as an important bridge toward future help.

Mental Health First Aid

The most intensive offering comes at the end of the month with Mental Health First Aid on Friday, May 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Fuller Lodge. Unlike the shorter trainings, this is a full-day certification course built to prepare participants to respond to mental health and substance-use crises. It is the most direct example of the county’s effort to move residents from awareness into active usefulness when a neighbor, colleague, or family member is in trouble.

That emphasis on practical response is especially important in a county that has already framed behavioral health as a system-level issue. The 2024 Comprehensive Health Plan says the county needs better access to and quality of mental health and substance use services, and it identifies collaboration with courts, police, EMTs, nonprofits, and health providers as part of the case-coordination network. A course like Mental Health First Aid helps extend that network beyond professionals by giving community members a structured way to recognize warning signs, respond safely, and guide someone toward help.

The county’s outreach also reaches beyond English-language and one-size-fits-all models. Social Services promotes Conexiones, a Spanish-language peer recovery support resource, which shows that the county is trying to connect with more than one audience and more than one stage of need. Combined with the crisis lines, the May trainings, and the county’s ongoing planning work, the message is clear: mental-health support in Los Alamos is being built as a local system with many doors, because the need itself rarely arrives in only one form.