The 2014 Mental Health Month event will be memorable for many reasons. No not because of the Presidential Proclamation –MAY is National Mental Health Awareness Month. That is cool, but it was already Mental Health Month. Now, it is an official Presidential Proclamation.
Locally here in Port Charlotte Florida, we have our one annual event that I’ve personally been a part of for a number of years. In the past, I’ve enjoyed sharing my cartoons with my peers at an event table. This year I wanted to make it extra special by bringing my 4 kids to draw and participate in this important event.
Healthy Minds. Healthy Community Mental Health Walk 2014 was great! See all the walkers in their colorful neon shirts. Plenty of DD coffee, and banging beat at 7a.m. of the DJ Dirty Brown Productions energized us. There was much wonderful support from community members as well as from various sponsors. Everybody working together and walking together for awareness against mental health stigma! I thank you!
I know many others were there in spirit or dreaming about the event…I stayed up all night just so I would not over-sleep and sadly miss it. I brought my kids and they enjoyed drawing caricatures of a bunch of peers. Here are a few. Now I asked each of them if I could show their photo with the kids’ drawings, but since I didn’t get written permission for CBHC… I thought I would edit their photos… Notice I kept their expressions of how they felt about the kids’ drawing them. 
Log into your Facebook page (Make sure to “like” CBHC to keep up with what’s going on here), you can check out pic’s via Facebook Healthy Minds. Healthy Community Mental Health Walk “In recognition of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, individuals in the Charlotte County community raised awareness of mental health as we walked in the Healthy Minds. Healthy Community Mental Health Awareness Walk presented by Criminal Justice Behavioral Health Advisory Council (CJBHAC) on Saturday, May 3rd. Charlotte County called on the community to help the 1 in 4 American adults who live with a diagnosable, treatable mental health condition and understand how important mental health is to overall health.”
At the event, CEO Jay Glynn, spoke while holding his puppy…Okay, it’s not a puppy, and the message he gave was inspiring and also extemporaneous. What he had to say was current as of “last night” and of a very serious natures for all peers! Jay Glynn spoke about the future landscape of the Mental Health services as we know it. I hope none of the message was lost with some of the cross talking and chatter and noise from local construction – good thing I got it with my smartphone. The footage is a little raw. See if you can pick up on what I heard….The Future is now!
Peer Ambassador Chato Stewart 