By Marsha Ritterband

    The first week of each October is National Mental Health Awareness Week, and Thursday, October 5 is National Depression Screening Day® (NDSD).  The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Colorado Springs, is sponsoring an evening of free confidential screening, hosted by SET of Colorado Springs.

    The screenings and on-site referral counseling will be available from 4:00 to 8:00 at the SET office in the old St. Francis Hospital building, on the ground floor, 825 E. Pikes Peak Avenue (Building 29).  Parking is free in the lot on the south side of the Hospital.

    The screening includes completing a one-page questionnaire that assesses if one may be suffering from depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or postpartum depression.  For the first time, we will have the questionnaires in English or Spanish.  Informational pamphlets and brochures are also available in both languages, as is follow-up referral counseling by a bi-lingual mental health professional.

    Each fall, thousands of health care providers and DBSA chapters throughout the country conduct NDSD events reaching roughly 200,000 individuals with educational resources, and screen more than 100,000 people for mood and anxiety disorders.

    For additional information on the October 5 screening, please contact a volunteer at the DBSACS office at 719-477-1515, or visit the DBSA's web site at www.dbsacoloradosprings.org.

    For those who are unable to make the October 5th screenings, the National Mental Health Association is offering free and confidential online screenings at www.depressionscreening.org.  The online site is to be used as a tool only and if the person finds the test is positive for depressive symptoms then he or she will have to follow-up with a healthcare professional on his or her own.