National Mental Health Month, which is observed in May, is an annual initiative that seeks to raise awareness, enhance our understanding, and decrease the stigma around mental health. While raising awareness for Mental Health is a crucial issue year-round, the month offers a critical platform to dispel misconceptions and offer support. Additionally, National Mental Health Month brings attention to the frequently overlooked matter of youth mental health, highlighting a crucial segment of the community that often hesitates to seek assistance. Below we have offered some resources for those that are or know someone that is struggling, please note in an emergency seek immediate help.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- SAMHSA’s national helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders. You can call 1-800-662-4357 for help.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- NAMI is the country’s largest grassroots mental health organization and offers resources and educational guides aimed at improving mental illnesses. The website offers links on warning signs and symptoms, mental health conditions common with mental illness, treatments, mental health by the numbers, and research.
COVID-19 Guide to Mental Health Resources for Children, & Young Adults
- A printable/downloadable document that offers resources and warning sides that is aimed at curbing youth mental health. It offers signs for parents to look out for along with hotlines and informational videos.
The Youth Mental Health Project
- A youth mental health resource that offers a support network for parents and additional resources such as crisis helplines, mental health resources for families, youth friendly mental health resources, resources for parents and teens (including resources for COVID-19), other articles and podcasts, and mental health resources for Black Americans
- An LGBTQ suicide prevention organization that offers resources on topics such as sexual orientation and ways to talk about suicide prevention. It also offers resources to build a network of support by connecting individuals with affirming international communities for LGBTQ youth individuals. There are also opportunities to volunteer.
- Loveland Foundation is an organization that offers guidance and resources to communities of color, with a particular focus on Black women and girls. Their resources and initiatives are collaborative, and they prioritize opportunity, access, validation, and healing.
The Asian Mental Health Project
- Asian Mental Health Project provides educational resources and community care initiatives that help make mental health care more accessible and approachable for the Pan-Asian community. They offer multimedia resources, host community events, and provide mental health assistance grants.
- The Nap Ministry is an organization dedicated to exploring the empowering effects of napping. Through their "REST IS RESISTANCE" framework, they utilize performance art, site-specific installations, and community organizing to create sacred and safe spaces where communities can rest collectively. Their mission is rooted in the belief that rest is a powerful form of resistance, and they acknowledge sleep deprivation as a matter of racial and social justice and offer lectures, coaching, and a school of deep study.
