TOLEDO, Ohio — In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, The East Toledo Family Center hosted its first annual mental health awareness fair to put trustworthy resources all under one roof Wednesday.
"We want our families to know that there are people out there that want to hear what's going on with them and help them with that issue," Jodi Gross, the center's executive director, said.
Gross said she hopes the fair starts to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness in east Toledo.
"Every day we struggle with something. We just want our families to know there is no judgment. We have no stigma. If you need help, ask for help," Gross said.
One in six children between the ages of 6 and 17 experience a mental health disorder each year, including anxiety and depression, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health. And suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10-14, according to the CDC.
Matt Rizzo, the CEO of Toledo-based addiction treatment and mental health services center Talbot Health Services, said change is possible.
"We can get to kids at an earlier age to help them know what mental illness looks like, what addiction looks like, how it can be treated and how people can walk that road of recovery and get better," Rizzo said. Treatment works and people recover."
It's not just about individual healing either. Communities, groups and neighborhoods all need to heal collectively. East Toledo is among those groups.
"The community in the 43605 zip code, we are very strong, we are very resilient," Rizzo said. "But to continue being strong and resilient with the poverty we face, the mental illnesses we face, the addiction we face, we need resources."
Starting on May 24, the East Toledo Family Center will begin a program offering mental health sessions every other week.
And to keep children active over the summer, multiple new programs including a volleyball camp, a STEM camp, art camps and girl scouts will begin in June and continue through August.
"We want our families to understand that this is all about them connecting them to these resources and these organizations," Gross said. "It's really about their well-being, so if there's anything we can tell them, that's what it is. Your well-being is important to us."