May 9, 2024
This week, May 5 - 11, 2024 is Children's Mental Health Awareness Week within Mental Health Awareness Month, and tomorrow, May 9, 2024, is Children's Mental Health Day.
Children and young people in this country are experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis: There has been a continued rise in the number diagnosed with anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions. An estimated one in five youth has a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder - yet many do not receive the help they need. These mental health challenges can significantly impact their ability to learn and develop.
For Mental Health Awareness Month 2024, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) encourages all to use and share the available resources in its Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkit. This year, during Week 2 of Mental Health Awareness Month, SAMHSA shared its focus is on messages that emphasize the emotional well-being of children and youth, and as such, the agency has shared resources and information to help build resilience and develop skills for managing life stressors in healthy ways.
Here are some of the events for Children and Teens' Mental Health Awareness Week, for May 5-11, 2024 and beyond:
- May 9 is National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. Observe this day by sharing the available resources in SAMHSA's Mental Health Awareness Month toolkit.
- May 12-18 is National Prevention Week. Start a conversation with the young people in your life about underage drinking and substance use. Need help getting started? Go to SAMHSA's "Talk. They Hear You."® resources.
- May 14-16: Consider participating in the National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI)/System of Care (SOC) Virtual Summit.
- May 17: Children, Youth, and Young Adult Mental Health Symposium "Championing Mental Health Together" (virtual livestream event open to the public; registration is not required.)
