BH Care to hold Block Party to mark Mental Health Awareness Month

ANSONIA = This month, BHcare is raising awareness of the important role mental health plays in our lives and encouraging members of the community to learn more about their own mental health and to take action immediately if they are experiencing symptoms of a mental illness. When we think about cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, we don’t wait years to treat them. We start before Stage

4—we begin with prevention. When people are in the first stage of those diseases, and are beginning to show signs of symptoms like a persistent cough, high blood pressure, or high blood sugar, we try immediately to reverse these symptoms. We don’t ignore them. In fact, we develop a plan of action to reverse and sometimes stop the progression of the disease.

 

Mental illnesses are not only common, they are treatable.  BHcare has helped thousands of individuals and families who struggle with mental illness live happy, healthy lives. Learn what you can do both to protect your mental health and know the signs of mental illness #B4Stage4. Visit www.bhcare.org for more information.

 

In celebration of Mental Health Awareness Month, BHcare will hold its annual Community Bock Party on Thursday, May 28, 2015 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at 435 East Main Street in Ansonia.  The event will culminate a variety of month-long activities to promote the importance of good mental health and to celebrate the improved quality of life provided for thousands of individuals and families. This year’s “Luau” block party will feature food, games, arts and crafts, music and more. The Block Party is free and open to the public. Children and adults are invited to wear their Hawaiian shirts and clothing. Ansonia Mayor, David Cassetti will be presenting a proclamation for Mental Health Awareness Month.

 

BHcare is a regional community provider of behavioral health, addiction prevention, and domestic violence services for the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Greater New Haven and Shoreline communities.

 

(This is a press release from BH Care) 

 

BHcare to host luncheon at Ansonia Armory

Event marks May is Mental Health Month
ANSONIA - As part of BHcare’s May is Mental Health Month activities, a luncheon will be held at noon Thursday at the Ansonia National Guard Armory, 5 State St.

Guest speaker will be state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, D-Woodbridge.
Crisco will talk about legislative issues affecting mental health programs and services.

There will be a light lunch followed by a question and answer period. The event is free and open to the public. 

RSVP to Phyllis Kaplan, 203-736-2601 Ext. 1232.

For more information about BHcare’s May is Mental Health Month activities and events, visit www.bhcare.org.

This post is taken from a press release from BHcare, a regional community provider of behavioral health, addiction prevention, and domestic violence services for the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Greater New Haven and Shoreline communities. 

Crisco says law means more mental health support for youth

'Comprehensive package of reforms'

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, joined Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in his Capitol office last Friday as he ceremonially signed into law one of Crisco’s signature legislative efforts: Public Act 13-178, “An Act Concerning the Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Health of Youths.”

“In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, we passed an historic, comprehensive package of reforms that included significant mental health provisions,” Crisco said.

“This companion legislation digs deeper into addressing the root causes of these tragedies, making early identification and intervention a priority. This law ensures that our state will have a solid system of mental health support commensurate with the task of addressing children’s mental health issues in Connecticut.”

PA 13-178, which officially became law on June 24, serves as a complement to the gun violence prevention and child safety law which was passed by the legislature in reaction to the December 2012 school shootings in Newtown.

The new law seeks to reduce mental, emotional and behavioral health issues in children. It will do so through enhanced prevention, early identification and intervention, better communication and consistency between home visitation programs, and new initiatives.

The law creates a Children’s Mental Health Task Force to study the effects of nutrition, genetics and psychotropic drugs on children. 

The task force will gather and maintain current information regarding these effects; and advise the General Assembly and Governor concerning the coordination and administration of state programs that may address these issues using a results-based accountability framework.

The task force membership will include, but is not limited to a psychologist, a psychiatrist, an educator, a pediatrician, a dietician and a pharmacologist.

The task force will submit its finding and recommendations to the Commissioner of Children and Families and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children by Sept. 30, 2014.

This is a press release from Crisco's office.

DeLauro highlights need for access to mental health services

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, released the following statement in response to the release of the first comprehensive report on children’s mental health in the United States. 

The report, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted the prevalence of mental health disorders in kids has been increasing, with up to 20 percent of kids experiencing a mental disorder each year.

“This report should serve as a call to action – we cannot continue to under-invest in public health programs and health services that ensure all children have access to the care they need.

"When up to 20 percent of kids in the U.S. are affected by a mental disorder each year, we simply must do better.  That includes investing in the CDC and ensuring that these kids have access to the health care services they need.”

DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for funding the CDC. 

See her additional comments on funding for CDC and other health care agencies here. 

Additional information on the CDC report may be found here.

This information is taken from a press release from DeLauro's office.

Crisco speaks about mental health services

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, today spoke with students, faculty members, and administrators at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven about mental health access and services in Connecticut as they relate to gun violence. 

Crisco is a member of the Mental Health Services Working Group of the legislature’s Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety, created last month in response to the December school shootings in Newtown.

Crisco said the forum, held in the Michael J. Adanti Student Center theater, was particularly poignant; four of the 26 Newtown victims had direct ties with SCSU.

“The importance of continuing this dialogue with respect to safeguarding our students and all state residents from potential gun violence cannot be understated,” he said. “Today’s forum was extremely productive in that it helps all of us who were there stay focused on addressing the causes and working to prevent future incidents of gun violence.”

Crisco and others were welcomed to the forum by Peter Troiano, Interim Vice President of Student and University Affairs, and the senator was formally introduced by Mary A. Papazian, President of SCSU.

“I’m grateful to the faculty and administration at SCSU for inviting me to today’s event and I applaud their continuing commitment to transforming such a shocking, horrible circumstance into something positive and constructive in our state,” Crisco said.

 “As our Mental Health Services Working Group – and each of the other working groups – refines its legislative recommendations to the task force at large we will continue soliciting input from all parties since it is so abundantly clear all parties remain deeply affected by what happened that day.”

This was taken from a press release from Crisco's office.