Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day – May 5th

Apr 20, 2016 | All, APA Central Announcements

SAMHSA’s Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day is coming up on Thursday May 5, 2016. This day seeks to raise awareness about the importance of children’s mental health and to show that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development from birth. This year’s national event—Awareness Day 2016: “Finding Help, Finding Hope”—will feature a highly interactive format in which youth and family leaders, educators, law enforcement officials, and behavioral health professionals will discuss how communities can work together to improve access to behavioral health services and supports for children, youth, and their families. The event will take place at 7pm EDT at The George Washington University School of Media & Public Affairs’ Jack Morton Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Please visit the SAMHSA website for additional information.

Communities nationwide can participate in this event in a variety of ways:

  • You can organize an Awareness Day Live! viewing event on May 5th at 7 pm EDT. Gather a group to watch the live webcast and participate in the onstage discussion via digital or social media using the hashtag #HeroesofHope. Find more information on planning your viewing event here.
  • You can participate in any of the interactive opportunities that are designed to complement the Awareness Day activities. This includes promoting the event through social media leading up to and during the event using the hashtag #HeroesofHope, and tuning in to the national live webcast.
  • You can take part in Text, Talk, Act for Awareness Day 2016. Text, Talk, Act is an interactive activity that encourages group conversations among youth and adults about mental health via text messaging. Text “HOPE” to ‘89800’ on May 5th to receive discussion questions and access to polling questions, the results of which will be presented during the live national event.

Please help to spread the word about Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day and the national live event on May 5th by sharing the above information as well as the attached invitation and infographic with your networks.