The Waseca Mental Health Collective, formerly known as the Waseca Suicide Prevention Cohort, sponsored a wellness fair at The Mill in Waseca the afternoon of Thursday, May 15. Planners for the event included (kneeling, from left) Pastor Jillene Gallatin of Grace Lutheran Church; Cindy Wofford of Sparrow Crisis Response; Ashley Killday and Colin Ayers, both of Waseca County Public Health; Sue McIntosh of Bethlehem Inn; (standing, from left) Mariana Izaquirre of Waseca County Public Health, Marty Johnson of Keep Fightin' Recovery; Afton Finley of the Waseca Public Library; and Meg Monahan. Pioneer photo by Deb Bently
Mental Wellness event promotes connection
Tue, 09/30/2025 - 7:53pm
Activity was already brisk at the 4 p.m. start of the Waseca Area Mental Health Resource Fair at The Mill in Waseca the afternoon of Thursday, May 15. The free event featured more than 20 mental health support groups from Waseca, Owatonna, Wells, and even Rochester, according to Marty Johnson, founder of Keep Fightin’ Recovery and one of the planners for the event.
Johnson explains that, when talking to people fighting mental health difficulties and addiction, he frequently hears comments like “I feel like I’m alone on an island.”
“This event is all about building connections,” he said.
Johnson explains the “Waseca Suicide Prevention Cohort” has now broadened its focus and become the Waseca Mental Health Collective, the fair’s sponsoring organization. Part of the intent of the new name, he continues, is to help make it clear people do not need to be in crisis to seek support. “Wellness is something we want to be working on all the time,” he points out.
Planning began last fall to find and bring together the wide variety of area organizations which support mental wellness and provide assistance for people in crisis. “Something that’s been really meaningful,” he says, “is that in many cases the organizations reached out to us. They heard about our plans and wanted to be part of them.”
Local businesses and organizations also donated items for prize baskets.
By bringing the providers together “under one roof” for the evening, Johnson said, the goal was to make it easy for individuals to find what they might be looking for–in some cases, what they didn’t even know is available locally.
Upbeat music, children’s activities, prizes and more were all included in the planning to create a positive, family-centered atmosphere, says Johnson.
Jillene Gallatin, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and a member of the mental health collective, led yoga sessions during the event. “Yoga invites us to connect to our bodies. We control our breath and concentrate on our movements,” she says. “It’s a way to put aside the stress and the sense of being pulled in many directions.”
Gallatin said she and other members of the collective felt excited at the possibilities the wellness fair could create. “It’s all about resources,” she observed. “Staying well means we pay attention to our physical, mental and emotional needs.
“The organizations here offer support in all those areas.”
“If even one person goes away from this saying ‘This event helped me find what I need,’ I’ll regard it as a success,” said Johnson.
Health collective member and Waseca County community health worker Mariana Izaguirre agrees the event was successful. “It encouraged conversations about mental health and wellness on the individual and community levels,” she observes. “A setting like this provides opportunities for not only our community members to learn about different resources in our area but also allows for providers to learn about the different resources available to help collaborate and better serve our community.”
The planners of the wellness event want people to know if they are looking for wellness resources they can contact collective members and public health workers Mariana Izaguirre at Mariana.Izaguirre@wasecacounty.gov or Colin Ayers at Colin.Ayers@wasecacounty.gov. Marty Johnson’s email address is Marty@keepfightinrecovery.org.