At the April 21 Cook County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) Board meeting, PHHS Board Chair, Heidi Doo-Kirk proclaimed the month of May as Mental Health Awareness month in Cook County.
“Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being,” read Doo-Kirk, PHHS Board Chair. “All Americans experience times of difficulty and stress in their lives that can impact their mental health.”
In conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, the Cook County Local Advisory Council (LAC) for Children’s and Adult Mental Health and the PHHS department are planning activities to raise awareness about the prevalence of mental illness and promote mental wellbeing and resilience in Cook County.
LACs offer individuals, parents, families and providers the opportunity to make a real difference in how mental healthcare is provided in their community, and they offer county and state policy makers the wisdom of people’s experience first-hand.
The Cook County LAC began meeting monthly in July 2019. Members include current and retired mental health service providers and community members with mental health experience and an interest in improving the mental health system in Cook County. The LAC works to make mental health resources available and to get the word out about available services. It is a vehicle of advocacy to engage members of the community in normalizing mental health as key to overall health and wellbeing.
For more information on the Cook County Local Advisory for Children’s and Adult Mental Health, and to apply for membership on the Council, visit the Cook County meeting portal at: cocookmn.civicweb.net/Portal/.
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