Tuesday, April 25, 2006

May is Mental Health Month

It's hard to believe it's almost May already!! It's just around the corner!! With May on it's way, we have Mental Health Month coming up soon.

Dad was always involved in fund raisers and educating people with his own knowledge of mental illness, and of course, he was an inspiration to me in all his efforts with the mentally ill.

This weekend, Ryan and I are walking in the "Homeward Bound" walk in Indy to raise money to help the homeless. We were able to choose exactly which organization we would like our donations to go to, and I chose the Mental Health Association. My donations will specifically go to the homeless in central Indiana who have mental illnesses. It helps them seek help, find support groups, get job coaches, and find a safe home or group home if that's the best thing for that individual.

So, I'm starting a couple days early for Mental Health Month, but I plan on getting involved with a couple other activities to help raise money and/or bring awareness to our communities about mental illness. In June, I will be involved in another walk in Indy that's sponsored by the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill (NAMI.) The goal for the all the people involved in raising the money is $75,000.00. With only 45 days to go until the walk, we are only at 10% of our goal. Hopefully with all the walkers' donations, we will meet, and maybe even exceed our goal.

The theme for Mental Health Month this year is MIND YOUR HEALTH, which focuses on the mind-body connection. It has been proven in many cases that with good mental health, your physical health is easier to manage. Mental health issues often turn into physical health issues. Stress and anxiety can be very hard on your body physically. NAMI and other mental health organizations hope to bring more awareness to the country about mental health issues, and how they can be treated and sometimes avoided completely with the right knowledge.

I hope that my interest in this will bring more people to research it for themselves. It can be very difficult to deal with mental illness, whether it's you or someone you love, or maybe even people you interact with on the job or in public. Knowledge is the best defense when it comes to helping someone or helping yourself.

5 comments:

sela said...

Well, that's good! I hope you reach your goal.

boneman said...

Hey, thanx fer comin to the show Friday. It's a charitable group, too, and though not actually mental health, it runs parrellel to it.

I personally have to admit that sometimes I think I'm nuts. I mean, can ya believe I'm actually trying to be a professional artist?

Kellie said...

I think that is great... I think it is important to support what you believe in. I recently walked in the Race for the Cure. (I had a Grandmother who had it and also and an Aunt that has survived!) You can't imagine the sense of achievement. You feel like you are a part of something bigger. I don't know how to explain it. Anyway, good for you for getting involved!!!

P.S. I had a good time with you on Friday! Hope to hang again soon!

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