When it comes to the health and wellbeing of kids in our community, everyone has a stake in the conversation. Professionals tell us that teen suicide, school shootings, and youth overdoses are all on the rise. Board meetings and presentations on what to do about these issues are great, but they often don’t reach into the spaces where our feelings and anxieties reside. Issues are complex and policies in our churches, schools, and community can be complicated. Emotions run deep and sometimes we just need a place to unpack how we feel with neighbors and friends who share similar hopes and concerns.

Periodic Tables will be hosting a converstaion on Saturday, August 6, from 12:00 to 2:00 PM at the Grove Theater in Oak Ridge, 123 Randolph Road. The lunch will be followed later that evening with a concert and community gathering for any wishing to continue community-building.

The Oak Ridge Ministerial Association has supported Periodic Tables since its inception several churches will be represented and involved. ORMA encourages our community to participate in these important conversations as part of building a strong, healthy community.

Recent school shootings, and even our own high school lockdown last year, stirred up emotion and anxiety. The mental health of so many students can go unnoticed until something hits the headlines of the newspaper or social media. Our goal is to join together neighbors and share in a conversation that generates hope and builds understanding. We believe that “change happens at the speed of trust, and trust happens at the speed of relationships.” Strengthening our relationships around the topic of student health and building partnerships is something worth celebrating in the Oak Ridge community.

This event is not intended for debate, nor is it a place for public speeches. We are not out to write policies, nor to criticize educators, mental health professionals, or our law enforcement. Instead, we will enjoy a meal together as neighbors and move through three areas of discussion:

1. What is your personal stake in this conversation? How does student health and safety affect you day-to-day, especially given the culture we live in with so many young people experiencing school shootings, suicides, and mental health crisis?

2. Can we find a healthy balance between trusting our community professionals to their work, while also recognizing our role as community members in helping improve student health and safety? Are there harder questions that we need to look at as a community?

3. How can mental health professionals, law enforcement, schools, churches and community better work together to prevent tragedies like the one in Uvalde, Texas? How can we better invest in the health and safety of our students?

To RSVP for this meal and conversation, please submit your name and email in the form below. Space is limited to 100 people, if more interest exists, we will create a 2nd time and location. Come ready to enjoy some good food and good conversation with your neighbors. Let’s talk outside the board room and meeting halls about how we feel and what we can do to build a better Oak Ridge. We’ll see you at the table!