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For the past five years, Families as Allies, in partnership with over thirty other organizations, has organized an event to celebrate Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week at the Fondren After 5 festival. This year, due to the COVID-19 virus and shelter in place proclamations, we re-imagined how and what we could do while we all practice social distancing.

The virtual activities we have organized are part of a larger, national campaign during the month of May to increase mental health awareness. All of our activities emphasize the importance of true partnerships among families, providers and policymakers.

This week, May 3- 9, is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, spearheaded by the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. We invite all of you to join us on Facebook Live at 1 PM on Thursday, March 7, to celebrate Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day and share your family’s tips for the best ways to cope with COVID while staying mentally healthy.  We will offer a fun and interactive webinar on Family Driven Practice for providers on Wednesday, a virtual support group for families on Thursday and a webinar for all on Family Driven Practice on Friday. You can check out other events throughout the month on our events page.

As we have done every year, we invited a number of other statewide and local organizations to partner with us as we all work together for comprehensive system of care for children in Mississippi. Those organizations are represented on the banner above.  We thank them for their commitment to children’s mental health, to our community and to our organization.

Last week the Mayor signed a proclamation naming May 3-9, 2020 as Children’s Mental Health Awareness week in the city.  In addition, the city has posted a web banner for Children’s Mental Health Awareness week on the city web site.

Local restaurant business Mangia Bene (owner of Sal and Mookie’s, Bravo and Broad St. Bakery) is sharing messages about children’s mental health awareness week with their followers and customers on social media. We appreciate their support and look forward to continuing to work with them to raise awareness. Please show them your support when considering restaurant options and thank them for sharing theirs.

The National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health has a number of resources and activities for Children’s Mental Health Awareness week on their website. You can also follow their Facebook page. If you would like to join with them and us in bringing awareness to Children’s Mental Health Awareness week, we encourage you to change your Facebook profile and cover image on your own personal Facebook page and/or your organization’s page. See the Federation’s instructions below.

How to change your Facebook Cover Image