The first of the winter and spring 2017 State of Mind conferences, put on by Swedish Medical Center Issaquah, the Issaquah Schools Foundation, the city of Issaquah’s Youth Advisory Board and the Issaquah PTSA, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. this Saturday at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Sammamish.

The free conference, which will be in its fourth year, centers around youth mental health and substance abuse. Attendees can choose four sessions to attend, ranging from topics such as “E-Cigarettes: Finding Truth Among the Vapors” to “Reducing the Stigma of Youth Mental Illness” to “Creating Cultural Awareness.”

Sammamish Chief of Police Michelle Bennett will present the keynote address, entitled “Cyberbullying: What Kids and Teens Need to Know.”

Issaquah School District Superintendent Ron Thiele said in a speech at the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon on Jan. 11 that one of the district’s current top priorities is to give students any and all of the mental health resources that they need.

“We’re trying to address the social-emotional needs [of students] … so they can access the incredible academic opportunities we have for them,” he said.

The next State of Mind conferences will take place on Saturday, March 11 at Liberty High School in Renton and Saturday, April 29 at Issaquah High School in Issaquah.