Mental Health Awareness Month 2021

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) Office of Child and Family Services has collaborated with several organizations and experts to create a video series, Children’s Mental Health Matters: Resiliency in Times of Adversity and Uncertainty in celebration of Children’s Mental Health Day on Thursday, May 6. Please take a moment to view the videos and share with family, friends, colleagues and the individuals you serve.

• Nurturing Family Resilience through Support - Mary Beth Walsh, Director of Programs, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Virginia (NAMI Virginia) and Bianca Martin, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Formed Families Forward, talk about why support is necessary for resilience, types of support available in communities across the state, and will share children’s mental health resources for parents and families. Resources include tips to navigate the children’s mental health service system as well as supports for parenting youth with mental health challenges.

• Coping with Uncertainty Using Mindfulness and Yoga - J Miles and Syd Collier, Project Yoga Richmond Ambassadors, each provide a 30 minute segment on yoga postures and mindfulness practices to help you cope with uncertainty and stress. Both J and Syd provide verbal instruction as well as demonstrations so that you, your child, or family can follow along with them during the practices.

• Resilience: Promoting the Mental Health of Youth and Young Adults as Providers - Sophie Fontaine, Youth and Young Adult Program Coordinator, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Virginia (NAMI Virginia) shares ways to promote resilience for youth and young adults in this 30 minute video. She speaks from the perspective of a young adult herself and talks about ways providers as well as youth/young adults can foster resilience in themselves and others. These include good movies to discuss as a family related to resilience, as well as resilience building activities for youth and young adults.

• Build Your Resilience in the Face of Crisis - Staff from a High Fidelity Wraparound team including Youth Support Partners (YSPs) and a Family Support Partner (FSP) from Middle Peninsula Northern Neck Community Services Board discuss why it is important to build resilience in times of crisis but also in everyday living. The panel discussion includes why resilience is important and ways we can go about building these skills.

• The Impact of Racial Trauma and Resilience: Creating Solutions for Children and Families - Chloe Edwards, Policy Analyst, Voices for Virginia’s Children, Amanda Lynch, Trauma-Informed Specialist, Richmond Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN), and Egette Indelele, CEO & Founder, Safe Haven Space