Last year’s Eliminate the Stigma Mental Health Walk, beginning in the Ridley’s parking lot and ending at the Humboldt County Courthouse, had over 150 participants, all helping to raise awareness for mental health in the community.
Mental health is not always easy to talk about even though it affects every single person, old or young and Mental Health Awareness Month is celebrated in May, highlighting not only the need for mental health to be discussed and recognized, but also the resources that are available in the community.
According to the National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI), “1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year,” “1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year,” and “Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-14.”
Pauline Salla, Humboldt County Director of Juvenile Services and Humboldt Connection Suicide Prevention Task Force
Chair, and other community stakeholders have helped organize a jam-packed calendar for the entire month of May, aiming to raise awareness with a special emphasis on awareness amongst youth.
“Not only are we rural, but we all know that the pandemic really changed our world and our lives as we knew it. And isolation is just one of those things that exacerbates any mental health struggles. And, even if we didn’t think we had, you know, concerns with our mental health, I think the pandemic really showed everybody how important it is to take care of your mental health and wellness,” said Salla.
During May, the community is invited to paint the town green, or “Go Green for the Month of May for Mental Health Awareness Month” by wearing green and displaying green somehow at home or work and “be kind to your mind” by promoting self-care activities, attending training and awareness events about mental health, sharing information on social media, and learning more about mental health.
“We really want to encourage our kids to talk about mental wellness and mental health, and we want kids to know that there’s a lot of support in our community. The more we talk about it, the less stigma that’s attached to it,” explained Salla.
According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey for 2021, 49.5 percent of high school students from Churchhill, Lander, Pershing and Humboldt County have ever lived with someone who was depressed, mentally ill, or suicidal and 43.7 percent of students have ever lived with someone who was having a problem with alcohol or drug use, which has a significant impact on mental wellness. A little over 50 percent of students have also reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row during the 12 months before the survey.
“We want our kids to know it’s totally okay to talk about [mental health] stuff and it doesn’t make you a bad person or a weak person, it makes you a human being,” said Salla.
The Task Force will also be promoting mental wellness with t-shirts that say “Are you good sis?” and “Are you good bro?” for students to purchase (with the Task Force receiving $5 from every purchase) from the Shirt Shack and every time they wear them at school they will be entered into a raffle with multiple prizes to win.
Salla explained that there are also generous donors in the community who will be sponsoring the cost of t-shirts for those students that may not be able to pay for one.
“We want our community to feel safe, and we want them to know that they’re definitely not alone. We have services. If we don’t have them here, we have people who can connect us to those services and that’s half the battle too,” said Salla.
Last year about 170 people participated in the Eliminate the Stigma Walk, but Salla said they are wanting 250 to 300 people to participate this year and for more people to attend and participate in all of the events.
“We hope that by sharing all these activities, supporting our community members, creating safe places for everyone just to talk if they’re not doing okay or if they’re struggling, that their mental health and physical health are no longer separated, right? It’s all health, and we have to treat both of them to treat our whole being and our whole person,” said Salla.