Let’s end the stigma. Let’s talk about mental health.
MCPS will host Mental Health Awareness Week from October 26–31 with a weeklong expo, including Zoom workshops, a resource fair, breakout sessions and question-and-answer session. Some workshops will be available in multiple languages. All workshops and activities throughout the week will be held virtually.
The free event, hosted by MCPS and the Montgomery County School Psychologists’ Association, is open to staff, students and their families.
The week kicks off at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26 with keynote speaker Jill Haak Bohnenkamp, an assistant professor and core faculty member at the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Each day will feature breakout sessions and video presentations on a variety of topics. Topics include finding happiness during COVID-19; social media; suicide awareness and prevention; healthy living; dealing with change; the impact of exercise; cybercivility and cybersafety; and dating violence.
The week culminates on Saturday, Oct. 31 with a live virtual resource fair and a question-and-answer webinar. All community members are invited to join this Zoom event from noon to 1:30 p.m. A full schedule of the week’s events is available here.
Many community and governmental organizations will provide information during the resource fair. Among them: Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services; EveryMind; RAP/The Landing; Family Services; Inc.; BTheOne; Montgomery County Crisis Center; Caring Matters and Our Minds Matter.
If MCPS students virtually participate in Mental Health Awareness activities, they may earn up to five Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for advocacy and for raising awareness about the important topics covered. Students will be asked to listen to the sessions and complete a Google form, reflecting on the information they learned and how they will use that information to benefit their school community.
