SIDNEY -- A presentation titled "I survived a suicide attempt" was held in Sidney to broaden the community's knowledge on preventing suicide.

CEO of Unconditional Inspiration LLC, and suicide and mental health speaker Rhianna Brand spoke at the Sidney High School auditorium Thursday night.

The Elevate Group scheduled this event in Sidney to help spread awareness and answer questions the community may have when it comes to suicide and suicide prevention.

The Elevate group is made up of; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Pastor Chad Rademacher, Sidney-Sun Telegraph Publisher Forrest Hershberger, Cheyenne County Sheriff Adam Frerichs, University of Nebraska Extension Educator for Rural Prosperity Nebraska Jamie Bright, and Sidney Regional Medical Center social worker Kimberly Dreyer.

Brand said everyone has mental health, and people should be aware and not afraid to have those conversations about their brains.

“Our brain is an organ just like any other organ in our body, it can be susceptible to malfunction just like our heart, and our bones, we break those,” Brand said.

According to Brand, society needs to get past the stigma and fear of mental health.

“Mental health is just as important as physical health, our brain literally runs our entire body,” Brand said.

Brand also said it is important to be kind and look out for people around us because anyone can be depressed.

 “Depression doesn’t have a face,” Brand said. “Growing up I had a lot of friends; I was the class clown; I got decent grades; I was part of the dance team; track team; state championships; I had a job; I had boyfriends. Everything looked normal, but it really wasn’t. I was really sad and depressed.”

Additionally, Brand said it is going to take everybody to beat the stigma behind mental health.

“We all need to be aware, we are in this community for a reason,” Brand said. "We’re here for each other, and so we really need to open up our eyes and be conscious of if someone is having a situational cue that could cause them to think about taking their lives.

Brand told personal stories and touched on other suicide and mental health issues. Frerichs also spoke about how suicide is handled from a law enforcement standpoint.

For help with suicide or mental health:

In a Crisis: Text WYO to 741-741 or call 1-800-273-8255.

Trevor Project (LGBTQ+) 1-866-488-7386

Sidney Regional Medical Center- (308) 254-5825

Destiny Counseling Services- 1023 10th Ave, Sidney, NE 69162 (308) 254-0737

Karuna Counseling- 731 Illinois Street, Sidney, NE 69162 (308) 249-7853