The first meeting of the 2021 year for the Iberia Mental Health Initiative Quarterly meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at St. Peter’s Church Hall, located at 213 Iberia St., and those who attend are expected to wear masks, as the hall allows for social distancing to ensure that everyone can keep safe.

“Even as we are limited in what we can do right now to address the mental health needs of our community, we are aware that the need is even greater,” Catherine Wattigny of Iberia Mental Health Initiative Inc. said. “Working within the constraints of the virus, we were able to recently produce a very informative COVID-19 panel video which can be found on our Initiative Facebook site.”

Participants, according to Wattigny, included Dr. Tina Stefanski, Medical Director of Region 4 for the LA Dept. of Health; Steven Hargrave, supervisor of counselors for the Iberia Parish School System; Jennifer Joseph, assistant superintendent of the Iberia Parish School System; and Cindy Hayes, a licensed certified counselor in New Iberia.

“Please consider attending this first meeting of the year to lend your ideas on what more can be done by the Initiative to promote good mental health,” Wattigny said.