MAYVILLE, N.Y.: County Executive PJ Wendel will be declaring May as Mental Health Awareness Month in Chautauqua County. A proclamation video will be posted Monday, May 3rd to the Chautauqua County Government Facebook page at www.facebook.com/chautauquacountygovernment.
Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene (CCDMH) and its community partners will join a national movement to raise awareness about mental health. Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed since 1949 in the United States. Its first observance was by the National Mental Health Association now known as Mental Health America. Since that time there has been a continued effort to educate the public about mental health, provide support for those with mental illness, their families, their providers and their clinicians as well as combat stigma surrounding mental health that still exists today.
“Mental health struggles exist to varying degrees in our daily lives,” said Wendel. “The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these and created new ones. It is important as a County that we are all properly supported to face these struggles, and we are fortunate to have tools available locally to do so.”
The CCDMH will be posting content all month on their social media platforms including Facebook (Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene) and Instagram (MentalHygieneCHQ), highlighting both local and national resources available to benefit all community members.
“Often times it is forgotten that mental illness is in fact just that, an illness,” said CCDMH Program Coordinator Misty Pennington. “Much like physical illness, it is treatable. People can get better. With proper treatment there is hope that everyone can live a happy and healthy life and the CCDMH provides access to that treatment”
Please contact Chautauqua County’s Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Clinics in Jamestown at 716-661-8330 and in Dunkirk at 716-363-3550 for more information about your local resources. To learn more about Mental Health America visit www.mhanational.org.
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