May 6, 2010: FIFTH ANNUAL NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS DAY

 

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services •  Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day (Awareness Day) is a day for everyone to promote positive youth development, resilience, recovery, and the transformation of mental health services delivery for children and youth with serious mental health needs and their families. Awareness Day raises awareness of effective programs for children's mental health needs; demonstrates how children's mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery, and resilience; and shows how children with mental health needs thrive in their communities. Visit the SAMHSA newsroom to find out more about Awareness Day activities on May 6. You also will find a brief report that provides evaluation results demonstrating how Federally funded systems of care are improving outcomes for young children with mental health challenges and their families.

 

On Thursday, May 6, 2010, Awareness Day will mark its 5th anniversary, as well as a first-time focus on the topic of early childhood. Communities across the country will observe the day with events, youth demonstrations, and social networking campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and increase understanding of the mental health needs of children and their families.

The Awareness Day initiative is comprised of the following three activities:

• The Post NOW E-viral Campaign
• "My Feelings Are a Work of Art" Art Action
• "When I Grow Up" Youth Action.

Awareness Day 2010 will specifically focus on increasing basic awareness of the importance positive mental health has on a child's healthy development, with the key message that "positive mental health is essential to a child's healthy development from birth."

Awareness Day efforts will encourage the following actions:

1. Integrate mental health into every environment that impacts child development from birth
2. Nurture the social and emotional well-being of children from birth
3. Look for and discuss milestones of a child's social and emotional development from birth