IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WZMQ) – At Bay Community College West Campus in Dickinson County, the community was engaged in around 15 different local outreach organizations that came together to provide resources to students and community members. The Dickinson-Iron Health Department, Michigan Works!, the Caringhouse, Open Door Life Coaching, Northern Lights YMCA, Northpointe Behavioral Health, local childcare programming, and Iron Mountain’s new local Teen Advocacy Center called The Cure, as well as representatives from DICSA (Dickinson-Iron Community Services Agency) were in attendance.
Jason Sullivan, the Director of Student Services at Bay West, says the fair is all about letting students, and now the community, know about what local resources are available, and what resources Bay College provides students as well. Sullivan highlighted access to the Bay West’s Food Pantry, as well as a career closet, enabling students to have access to professional attire for interviews or internships, and staple nutrition.
“Bay College also has our resources downstairs as well for students, including our food pantry, our career closet which is professional clothing that is free for students to take if they need for interviews. So also just to give them an idea on what we offer here at Bay College to them as well,” noted Sullivan.
There is a new area resource coming soon to the City of Kingsford, to provide support for suicide loss, according to Executive Director Talitha Nelson of the Forever Friendship Drop-In Center, which provides a sanctuary for adults with mental health diagnosis to engage in group support and socialization free from stigma.
The coming loss support group will be open to adults-only, as are all the services and support provided by Forever Friendship Drop-In Center. The new loss support group will be hosted on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 5 pm to 7 pm central time. The support group is tailored for all those affected by the loss of a loved one to suicide.
The Iron Mountain VA medical center will have representation in an upcoming veteran’s outreach event next week in Alger County, according to Frank Lombard, the UP Veteran’s Program Manager for the Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress, also known as UPCAP. The event will include a wide variety of veteran service agencies, the health department, financial support for avoiding scams and fraud, and Medicare/Medicaid assistance, to name a few.
The veteran outreach event will be hosted at the American Legion Post on Tuesday, October 10th from 1pm-5pm eastern time, and veterans must bring proof of military service. Veterans who attend will receive a $20 gas card. Family members are welcome to accompany their veteran to the event.
“What we would like students to get out of the resource fair, is essentially just knowing what is out in the community for them. We had a great turnout today,” Sullivan added, highlighting the Head Start Program for childcare, as well as the Dickinson-Iron Health Department, The Northern Lights YMCA, and NorthPointe Behavioral Health as valuable community resources for students to engage with at the fair. The college expects to schedule its next resource fair sometime in February, and on Friday Bay West will host a manufacturing day, which will engage over 300 local high school students to learn about exciting local careers in manufacturing.
For more information on Bay College West, visit:
https://www.baycollege.edu/on-campus/bay-college-west/index.php
