Connect Summit County launches Mental Health Campaign
As mountain towns contend with the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, CONNECT Summit County has teamed up with the Katz Amsterdam Foundation to promote Part of Our Nature, a mental health awareness campaign. Through this campaign, which will launch in four mountain communities including Summit County, the organizations aim to encourage prioritization of mental health by connecting those in need of support to local resources.
“One of the very real, very unfortunate impacts of COVID-19 on our mountain communities has been a dramatic rise in mental health and substance abuse issues, amplified by the already limited access to local services and stigma that existed in these unique communities,” said Beth Ganz, executive director of the Katz Amsterdam Foundation. “We are committed to raising awareness and connecting people to the support they need during this challenging time. We are grateful to have such strong partners, including CONNECT Summit County, who are passionate about ensuring mental health is prioritized alongside physical health.”
“In these extraordinary circumstances, CONNECT Summit County is uniquely positioned to address the need in the community for access to mental health resources both immediately and going forward. Our missionto create a well-informed and stigma-free community with access to mental health services for everyonehas perhaps never been more relevant than it is now,” said Deanna Rhodes, executive director of CONNECT Summit County. “We are grateful to be in a position to steward this community-wide campaign on behalf of all the partners in Summit County.”
By emphasizing that changes in mental health are a “part of our nature,” the awareness campaign aims to normalize the topic of mental health, reduce stigma, and encourage people to reach out and access resources if needed. The campaign will link to a new website, PartOfOurNature.org, which connects people with local mental health services and support specific to their community.
For Summit County it is CONNECT Summit County. For More information: connectsummitcounty.org/
