NORWOOD – Public Health Director Stacey Lane and Project Director Francesca Golightly are pleased to share information about the ongoing Mental Health campaign in Norwood Matters.
The social marketing campaign started in June and will continue for the rest of the year. The campaign aims to increase mental health awareness and knowledge about mental illness to begin the important work of removing the negative stigma associated with seeking mental health care.
The campaign will also share resources available to Norwood residents with a mental illness, families of people living with a mental illness and the general public. The information shared so far includes the importance of mental health, what affects mental health, how to take care of mental health, common mental illnesses, and how mental illness differs from person to person.
Through the use of public service announcements, billboards, newsletters, blog posts and more, the campaign will disseminate information and educational materials with the overall goal of improving residents’ knowledge of the importance of mental health and the resources available for mental health.
The campaign is part of the work being done by the Norwood Health Department under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) grant, which was received in September 2021. The purpose of the grant is to train City of Norwood employees, Norwood Public Schools staff and family physicians in mental health first aid. More information about the scholarship can be found here.
Mental Health First Aid is a competency-based training course offered by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing that teaches participants about mental health, the impact of early interventions, recognizing early signs and worsening signs of a mental health disorder, and recognizing signs of a mental crisis and how to use de-escalation techniques when needed. The MHFA training will strengthen the city’s ability to understand and respond to the needs of residents and students.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on mental health over the past two years, and we are very fortunate to have received the MHAT grant to begin building the capacity to address the needs of the mental to address health in our community,” Golightly said. “We hope this campaign will help residents understand the importance of taking care of their mental health and the resources available to them.”
President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address this year marked the most momentous White House statement on mental health and drug use in decades and highlighted the importance of addressing the mental health crisis.
Similarly, United States Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued an important public health warning regarding the emerging mental health crisis facing youth and adults. Data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness states that one in five adults in the United States suffers from a mental illness each year and one in six adolescents aged 6 to 17 in the United States suffers from a mental disorder each year.
To keep up to date with the Mental Health Awareness Training Grant and social marketing campaign, visit the Norwood Department of Health website, the Impact Norwood website and follow us on Facebook.
