Created from the belief that rural communities deserve access to hope, understanding, and support without having to travel far from home. Based in Eastern Iowa, our work brings human-centered, nonclinical conversations about brain health into rural communities using language that reflects the way people live, speak, and gather in small towns.

Through lived experience, individuals and organizations gain confidence to engage in meaningful conversations. By creating spaces that feel safe and familiar communities are empowered to connect, learn, and take action together.

Visit our Mission tab to learn more about the heart and purpose behind this work.

(30 minutes | Awareness & Inspiration)

Purpose:
Introduces brain health conversations through storytelling, lived experience, and community reflection.

What it includes:

• Story-driven awareness

• Reducing stigma through shared experience

• Creating a safe space to begin the conversation

Ideal for:
Schools, community groups, workplaces, faith-based organizations, and public events.

(30-60 minutes | Education & Prevention)

Purpose:
Builds understanding around mental health, suicide prevention, and how to support others with confidence.

What it includes:

• Education focused on early warning signs

• Practical tools for having difficult conversations

• Prevention-focused, non-clinical approach

Ideal for:
Educators, parents, students, employers, first responders, and community leaders.

This workshop can be offered as a standalone session or following the Shine the Light Seminar.

(30-60 minutes | Action & Advocacy)

Purpose:
Helps participants turn awareness into action within their families, schools, workplaces, and communities.

What it includes:

• Identifying next steps and local opportunities

• Building confidence to advocate and support others

• Encouraging ongoing community engagement

Ideal for:
Groups ready to move from learning into leadership and advocacy.

30 minutes | Awareness, Prevention & EAP Education

Purpose:
Designed to meet blue-collar workers, farmers, and rural tradespeople where they are by addressing brain health in a way that respects rural work culture, identity, and lived experience. Education and overview on EAP benefits.

What it includes:

• Evidence-based statistics presented in an approachable, non-clinical way

• Lived and shared experiences led by individuals who work and live in these industries

• Open, relatable conversations that reduce stigma and normalize asking for help

• Practical tools for recognizing when support is needed

• Guidance on how to ask for help, respond to someone seeking support, and access resources proactively

Ideal for:
Farmers, agricultural workers, blue-collar and trade industries, employers, unions, rural businesses, and community organizations.

This program can be offered as a standalone session or integrated into community events, workplace trainings, or broader outreach efforts.

(45–60 minutes | Youth Voice, Awareness & Connection)

Purpose:
Designed for all youth — whether or not they have personal experience with mental health. This panel creates an inclusive space where young people can explore emotions, build understanding, and feel supported before challenges become overwhelming.

What it includes:

• Youth panelists sharing real stories and perspectives in a relatable, age-appropriate way

• Guided conversation that normalizes emotions, stress, and “big feelings”

• Discussion around identifying trusted adults and safe people to turn to

• Practical guidance on how to support friends when things feel heavy

• Resources for youth and families to continue conversations at home

Ideal for:
Middle schools, high schools, colleges, youth organizations, families, educators, and community groups.

This panel can be offered as a standalone experience or paired with the Shine the Light Seminar or Hope Lives Here Workshop to encourage multigenerational understanding, connection, and early support.

What this program is not:
This panel does not provide therapy or counseling. It is a community-based designed to encourage conversation, connection, and early support.

Purpose:
Designed for students who want to be involved in positive change within their schools and communities — whether or not they have personal experience with mental health challenges. These resource tables offer a way for youth to spread awareness, inspire hope, and encourage conversation in approachable, peer-led ways.

What it includes:

• Resource tables hosted at schools, events, or community gatherings

• Peer-to-peer engagement focused on normalizing conversations around mental well-being

• Materials that encourage hope, connection, and awareness

• Opportunities for student activists and advocates to lead with purpose

• Information on how to support friends and identify trusted adults and resources

Ideal for:
Student groups, student councils, clubs, youth organizations, school events, and community gatherings in rural communities.

These tables are not a structured program or workshop. Instead, they serve as a flexible outreach opportunity that empowers students to carry The Be A Light Project’s mission forward in a way that feels authentic, accessible, and inclusive.