POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Point Pleasant Beach will hold its first annual health fair on Saturday, April 27, as the borough joins the Meyers Wellness Campaign, a statewide initiative that unites local governments and residents through community health initiatives. It’s been 1 year since then.
“I’m very concerned about the health and well-being of our community. As mayor, I think it’s important to expand this program…(Health) really is anything goes. From physical to mental. , art, music, all of that falls under the umbrella of ‘wellness,”’ said Mayor Doug Vitale, who brought the initiative to the borough.
The resources available at the health fair held at Ocean Fire Company 2 represented the diverse aspects of health and wellness, from the physical to the mental and emotional. Chantel Hawthorne, program coordinator for the Teen Suicide Prevention Association, spoke to Ocean Star about how the resources the association provides can help with mental health crises.
“The real goal is to eliminate stigma and provide a competent community care model to the community, which means we’re targeting every corner of the community,” Hawthorne said. “We work with law enforcement, we work with teachers, we work with parents in the community. We provide them with education about the red flags, risk factors and protective factors.”
Mr Hawthorne also mentioned the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is a free resource designed to provide confidential emotional support and can be reached by people in crisis by calling 9-8-8.
It also provided mental health services. COMPASS (Creating Ocean Monmouth Prevention and Supports for Students) is a New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services (NJ4S) program designed to provide free assistance to public and charter school students and parents in Monmouth and Ocean Counties . This program is managed by Preferred Behavioral Health Group.
“COMPASS is a program in Ocean and Monmouth counties,” said Michelle Baxter with Preferred Behavioral. “Basically, we do prevention in schools. We go to schools and support social-emotional learning. We teach children to feel sad, angry, angry. We teach you how to help yourself when something happens.”
“We’re committed to substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, and anti-bullying. We’re also LGBTQ acceptance and awareness. We’re teaching kids how to love themselves and love people around the world.” ” Baxter said.
On the physical health side, Giovana Zakatelko, a patient navigator with the Ocean Monmouth Health Alliance CEED (Cancer Education and Early Detection) Team, shares how exactly the team contributes to the community. explained.
“We treat four types of cancer: colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer,” she said. “We go out into the community to find uninsured or underinsured local residents who need these services and provide them free of charge. If they have a disability, we also provide transportation. To do.”
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