The Union County Board of County Commissioners announced that this year’s UC STEP Citizen Engagement Project will beStepping up to the Mental Health Summit” Unlike previous years, Union County decided to combine all three projects into one powerful effort.The summit is scheduled to be held on May 18thth at Oak Ridge Park from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Event details to come.
“We are so proud of the dedication and creativity our high school students have shown. The collaborative projects they have undertaken this year are a great example of the power of teamwork in improving mental health and wellbeing.” said Kimberly Palmieri-Mowed, Chair and Mental Health Advisory Committee Liaison. “The students’ ideas are innovative and thoughtful and have the potential to benefit so many people in our community. Such inspiring teamwork from our young people It’s great to see this happen and we look forward to the positive impact this project will have on our community.”
Thanks to the exceptional response from the community, the ideas presented by the Light Green, Gold and Maroon teams will be featured as key components of Union County’s first final community engagement project. Stepping up to the Mental Health Summit.
team Mr. Light Green The idea of hosting a mental health summit would be the centerpiece of our culminating event.Other activities involving teams maroon Mbrace(let)s project The summit will focus on accepting your emotions, both good and bad. Participants will make bracelets to spread awareness about mental health: “It’s okay to not be okay.”Respect to the team gold In this project, Union County will create an online resource portal to connect youth to mental health resources. By making resources easily available online, we can empower individuals to take proactive steps towards managing their mental health.
Each of the three projects presented at UC STEP addresses a different aspect of mental health and awareness. By working together on these three initiatives, we hope to develop a more comprehensive strategy that addresses the diverse needs of individuals suffering from mental health issues.
Students still have a chance to win a $1,000 START NOW grant from the Union County Commission.
For more information, please contact Judith Guest, Community Engagement and Diversity Coordinator, at (908) 527-4388 or by email at Judith.Guest@ucnj.org.
For more information about UC-STEP, visit ucnj.org/uc-step/.
