Background/Issues: A small rural community experienced three suicide related events in a nine month timeframe leaving the community in shock and reminding providers of the limited resources within rural communities and critical access hospitals to reach out to those impacted by these events. Description: There was so much suffering in this community, it was important to lift up the conversations and create a process where all community members could be brought into the difficult conversations. A mental health task force was created to ensure all voices were heard. Strategies to create an environment of open dialogue were used and passionate students were engaged in a real-world application of public health nursing. The Community-Based Collaborative Action Research (CBCAR) framework was used to address the community’s mental health needs. Through the work of this task force, two QPR trainings were provided that educated 60 community professionals to recognize the warning signs, ask questions, and encourage someone at risk to seek help. Three community forums were offered on topics of Suicide Awareness, Conversations Regarding Suicide, and QPR training for community members. Through grant funding community members and health professionals were trained in mental health first aid. Lessons Learned: The task force found the framework useful because it values community engagement where all voices are heard. The structure allowed the community to create significant and meaningful relationships where people could relinquish their power and make a long term commitment to this mental health initiative resulting in an empowered and inclusive community working to achieve wellness with each other. The CBCAR process evidenced a triple benefit: provided a mechanism for improved community health and engagement, created meaningful public health education for nursing students, and helped a community heal. Recommendations/Implication: The CBCAR framework is a new, innovative process that promotes critical dialogue and encourages all voices to be heard. CBCAR co-constructs meaning between community members, stakeholders, policy makers, and nurse educators through shared knowledge and lived experiences. CBCAR is an effective method for researching the phenomenon of community-based health concerns and holds promise for the development of nursing interventions that target health disparities.