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Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto signed a proclamation over the weekend making May 9th Child Mental Health Inclusion Day in Wilson County.
“Mental health is an issue that doesn’t get a lot of attention,” Hutt said. “If we have a cold, we’ll probably tell someone. If our head hurts, we’ll tell someone. If our tooth hurts, we’ll go to the dentist. But often, mental health If we have a problem, we don’t tell people about it, we don’t go see[someone].”
Each year, the County Mayor’s Office collaborates with Tennessee Voices during May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month.
“Tennessee Voices has a lot of programs for kids that focus on mental health,” Brooke Driver said. “We usually celebrate Children’s Mental Health Awareness Month, but this year it’s not about awareness, it’s about acceptance.”
Over the past year, Tennessee Voices has been working with school systems and other nonprofit organizations across the county to disseminate information about mental health to reduce stigma.
“To commemorate all that work, we were able to bring together all of our partners to sign a proclamation commemorating Mental Health Awareness Month,” said Tennessee Voice Outreach and Engagement Program Manager said Francis Garcia.
In addition to disseminating information, Tennessee Voices has brought mental health resources to Wilson County.
“We put in place a behavioral safety net that includes uninsured children and adults,” Garcia said.
Two youth mental health training courses are also being held at Wilson County churches.
“Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches adults how to identify and prevent mental health issues in children,” Garcia said.
Tennessee Voices worked with schools to create a training calendar.
“That calendar will consist of family support services that look at the current truancy issues that families are having and how we can provide support to families in need,” Garcia said.
Garcia, who lives in Lebanon, recognizes the mental health needs of Wilson County’s youth.
“Seeing how open people are and how all of these partners who were able to meet to share our resources decided to come together to take a photo on the courthouse steps. I was very excited,” Garcia said. “It was really exciting. We know that mental health isn’t really discussed in our community, so it was very energizing.”
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