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“Education is the most powerful tool which you can use to change the world.” –Nelson Mandela The Education Committee of BEP is expanding our organization’s battle with Mental Health Stigma in our community. In addition to our Annual Community Mental Health Forum, the committee has scheduled quarterly education activities open to the community.  Please add…

Lowell Haag has been named the 2018 Brookings Empowerment Project Volunteer of the Year. Haag has been a faithful supporter of Brookings Empowerment Project (BEP) since joining the organization.  His accounting expertise, along with his technical knowledge and abilities have been invaluable in moving BEP record keeping from paper to computer.  Mr. Haag is widely…

Hello! NAMI South Dakota and its affiliates strive to make education opportunities available throughout the year.  We’d like to announce four new classes that will be starting soon. NAMI Basics, for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with mental health concerns:  Starting February 22 in Sioux Falls.  Please call 605-376-0595 to register. NAMI Family to Family,…

The Brookings Empowerment Project is pleased to present the Donor of the Year award to MetaBank.  MetaBank is richly deserving of this award because of its generosity in providing office space at no charge to BEP on the second floor of its facility at 600 Main Avenue in Brookings for the past three years. In addition to…

The Brookings City County approved $7,000 for BEP House, the transitional housing project that Brookings Empowerment Project has been working on. Read more about BEP House in this story that ran in The Brookings Register.

For the past five years, South Dakotans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (SDADP) has presented bills before the South Dakota Legislature to abolish the death penalty in South Dakota. Each year our effort failed in committee to even get the bill to the floor for debate. In 2017 we took a different approach. Following…

East Central Behavior Health in Brookings finished towards the bottom of ranked community mental health centers in South Dakota, based on the number of clients served and the cost per client. Both category rankings reveal what most members of our community experience: few services and poor quality of those services. Attached is the information I…

The Brookings Empowerment Project continues with it battle against Mental illness Stigma by meeting with the Brookings County Commissioners recently. The meeting took place during the regular County Commission meeting and was broadcast locally. The purpose of the meeting was twofold: first, to inform the Commission about BEP and what it is doing in the…

In the interest of improving Brookings community’s response to mental health crises, representatives from law enforcement, the hospital emergency room, East Central Behavioral Health (ECBH), local and state National Alliance for Mental Health (NAMI), and Brookings Empowerment Project (BEP) met to view the NAMI webinar, “Starting a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Program: Steps for Success.”…