Children's Mental Health Awareness Day/Week

Celebrate Children's Mental Health Awareness Day/Week

May 9th ~ May 5-11th

Because our children matter!

What Is It?

Children's Mental Health Awareness Week was created by the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health and is held every year during the first full week of May. This year's theme is: Out of the Shadows: Exposing Stigma.

Children's Mental Health Awareness Day was created by SAMHSA in 1994 to increase awareness around children's mental health.

See North Carolina's Proclamation for Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

*You can find ALL of the week's awareness activities and resources HERE and the day's awareness activities and resources HERE.

Awareness Day/Week Events

May 7, 2013 - Congressional Hearing for Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

Click HERE to get information on how you can help by contacting your representatives to attend this briefing on how important funding is for children's mental health

May 8, 2013 - NIMH Experts Twitter Chat on Childhood Rapid Onset OCD

11:00am - for more information click HERE

May 9, 2013 - North Carolina Press Conference for Children's Mental Health

10am - State Legislative Building - 16 W. Jones St.

Green Balloons will be released at 11am

More information HERE (scroll down - beneath Invitation)

May 9, 2013 - The Whole Child - Dressed for Success (registration starts at 8am)

NAMI Cumberland

DSS, 1225 Ramsey St., Fayetteville NC

910-476-7164 for more info

NAMI's Policies on Children's Mental Health

Fact Sheets -Where We Stand

Mental Health Screening - NAMI's public policy platform supports mental health screening and notes that only a fraction of youth who have mental illnesses are identified and receiving services.

School-Based Mental Health - NAMI supports school-based mental health services and supports the training of school personnel to better understand the early warning signs of emerging mental illness.

School Resource Officers - NAMI's public policy platform calls for "all child-serving professionals to receive training that will help them better understand early-onset mental illnesses and to communicate effectively with families about these illnesses.

See more Where We Stand Fact Sheets HERE

For additional information about children who live with or are at risk for mental health challenges and how you can help or seek help for a child or family you know, please refer to the resources below.

Resources:

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) North Carolina

NAMI's Child and Adolescent Action Center

N.C. DMHDDSAS Child and Family Services

North Carolina Families United

Family Support Network of North Carolina

Exceptional Children's Assistance Center

Family Advocacy Network

North Carolina Infant Mental Health Association

North Carolina Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (PBIS)

North Carolina Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255

National Child Traumatic Stress Network

North Carolina Collaborative for Children, Youth and Families

National Child Mental Health Network