1 in 5 kids

I was very pleased last night watching the evening news that they were highlighting Mental Health Awareness Month and talking about the fact that 1 in 5 youth in our county have a mental health condition that needs intervention. There are two types of stigma associated with mental illness: social stigma and self-stigma. Hopefully by equating mental and physical illnesses and talking about it with children we can reduce the stigma. This is my bulletin board that I use each May. It always raises lots of questions like, "What is mental illness" "Do kids at our school have mental illnesses?" "Are you sure there are that many young people with mental illness?" For more information on how to support those with mental illness go to nami.org