Trauma To Resilience: Coping Through Connection

BAY COUNTY, FL – Join us for our annual Suicide Awareness Summit on Friday, September 26th, 2025, at Florida State University (FSU) Panama City in the St. Joe Community Foundation Lecture Hall inside the Holley Academic Building, 4750 Collegiate Drive. Check-in for the event is from 8:30 am to 8:55 am (CDT) with the summit ending at noon. Advance registration is required.

This is a free, in-person event open to the community that will discuss issues and solutions surrounding mental health and suicide.

This year's theme is "Trauma to Resilience: Coping Through Connection" and aims to focus on the mental health challenges of Veterans and First Responders.

This year's keynote speaker is Michelle Lawrence, LMHC, MCAP, Lead clinician for 2nd Alarm Project which focuses on the mental health and well-being of first responders and their families. Lawrence’s topic will be "How the Brain Reacts to Trauma."

Evidence-based training will be provided to participants. This is an in-person event.

Also speaking at the summit will be Anna Hunter, Director of Marketing for Irreverant Warriors, an organization that brings veterans together using humor and camaraderie to improve mental health and prevent suicide. Hunter's topic will be "Breaking the Status Quo."

The summit concludes with a networking lunch provided at no charge to all event attendees.

Following the lunch, there is optional suicide prevention skills training offered from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm (CDT). The 1-hour workshop presents a standardized, nationally recognized approach known as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) and is delivered by PanCare. Separate advance registration for the QPR Training is required using this link.