(Juneau) The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind folks about mental health during the holiday season. Mental health issues can trigger an increased consumption of alcohol and drugs especially when getting together with family and friends. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt says sometimes people struggle with and without their families.
“Sometimes it gets difficult,” says Schmidt. “You have tragedy that happens, you have relationships that happen, and all those things lead to, you know, kind of a depressing time. You have drug dependency that certainly impacts mental health, and so it’s important to check on you family and friends and loved ones.”
Schmidt says that those dealing with mental health may not want to hear that someone is concerned and tell that person they are fine. He adds that there are resources available.
“Becky Bell and her staff over at Dodge County Human Services are great resources,” Schmidt says. “We’ve got Alarus [Clinic] here in town, we’ve got affiliated counseling. We’ve got a lot of counselors, we’ve got drug related counselors, we’ve got alcohol related counselors, just mental health.”
The sheriff encourages those that are having a mental health crisis to go and see somebody about it. If someone is unsure of who to talk to, Schmidt says to go see the family doctor first.
