NC YMCAs Observe Mental Health Awareness Month and Train Staff in Community Care Model

News provided by

May 01, 2024, 07:05 ET

RALEIGH, N.C., May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The NC Alliance of YMCAs is proud to announce its participation in Mental Health Awareness Month throughout the month of May. This month is a crucial opportunity to break down stigmas surrounding mental health, promote understanding and provide resources to those in need. The Y's Teen Mental Health Resource Hub housed online at www.ymcateenmentalhealth.org is available to support teens (and their families) who may be struggling with mental health.

Teens helped develop the Y's "Mental Health Has No Face" campaign to bring awareness to the fact that anyone can have mental health challenges.

"At the Y, we recognize that we all have mental health, and mental health is an important part of our overall health and social-emotional well-being," said Sheree Thaxton Vodicka, CEO of the NC Alliance of YMCAs. "Mental Health Awareness Month provides an opportunity for us to promote a culture of understanding and acceptance, and to further our work to support teens."

As part of this commitment, last week 25 YMCA staff participated in Mental Health Community Care Training provided by YMCA of the USA in Raleigh. Mental health community care is a preventive model of care that equips and empowers individuals with the ability to provide informal, community-based mental health support.

Community-based support focuses on mental health promotion to encourage and increase healthy behaviors, protective factors, and resilience. This approach helps to reduce the risk and impact of mental illness, provide early intervention, and support the process of healing and recovery.

"Collaboration with licensed and credentialed mental health providers is a critical part of the community care model, and that's why North Carolina YMCAs are partnering with mental health experts in their local communities to support teens and their families," Vodicka said. "Through the Y's programs for teens, we are creating supportive environments and relationships and teaching life skills, as well as educating teens and families about mental health, as part of the community care model. When our Y staff identify a teen that may be struggling with their mental health, we are able to refer them to a local expert who can help."

Through grant funding provided by the NC legislature, YMCAs launched their work to support teen mental health in March. Recognizing the importance of mental well-being, especially for adolescents post-Covid, NC YMCAs are implementing a multi-faceted approach. This includes the Teen Mental Health Resource Hub at www.ymcateenmentalhealth.org, a teen mental health destigmatization campaign, "Mental Health Has No Face;" new and expanded teen programming at Ys across the state, and partnerships with local mental health providers.

Twenty-five YMCA associations, with 120 branches and overnight camps around the state, are engaging in this work, including:

Alamance County Family YMCA
Cleveland County Family YMCA
Eastern Carolina YMCA
Foundation YMCA of Wilson
Gaston County Family YMCA
Goldsboro Family YMCA
Harrison Family YMCA
Henderson Family YMCA
J. Smith Young YMCA
Randolph-Asheboro YMCA
Rowan-Cabarrus YMCA
Stanly County Family YMCA
Tom A. Finch Community YMCA
Williams YMCA of Avery County
YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly
YMCA of Catawba Valley
YMCA of Greater Charlotte
YMCA of Greensboro
YMCA of High Point
YMCA of Northwest North Carolina
YMCA of South Hampton Road's three branches in Eastern North Carolina
YMCA of the Sandhills
YMCA of Southeastern NC
YMCA of the Triangle
YMCA of Western North Carolina.

About the YMCA and the NC Alliance of YMCAs

The YMCA is a leading nonprofit that collectively serves more than one million people statewide, including children, adults and seniors, through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

The North Carolina Alliance of YMCAs is an independent 501(C)3 nonprofit corporation supporting the 27 independent nonprofit YMCA associations in the state. The Alliance's purpose is to build the capacity of all the state's YMCAs, foster collaboration on statewide initiatives through effective partnerships, and advocate on behalf of the YMCA's mission and cause with elected officials and stakeholders at the local, state, and national levels. For more information, please visit ncymcas.org.

Contact: Michele McKinley
[email protected]
919-508-7687

SOURCE NC Alliance of YMCAs