The Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week Committee of Dutchess County has been honored at the New York State Office of Mental Health’s ‘What’s Great in our State 2016’, an event that celebrates the people and programs making a difference in the field of children’s mental health. The award winner was recognized at an event on May 3, 2016, in Albany.

“The members of the Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week Committee of Dutchess County are making exceptional strides to bring children’s mental health awareness to the forefront of the healthcare discussion,” said New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Marie T. Sullivan. “We thank them for their hard work and commitment to the cause.”

The Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week Committee of Dutchess County has been planning a week of free activities during the annual Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week for the last 10 years. The events, workshops, media outreach and other activities focus on educating the public about children and families who experience a social, behavioral or emotional challenge. The committee also provides schools with support and resources they need to hold mental health awareness events. The agencies that make up the committee include the Mental Health America of Dutchess, Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health, Taconic Resources for Independence, NAMI Mid-Hudson, and Astor Services for Children & Families.

“The agencies involved in the planning and participation of the Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week in Dutchess County work hard each and every year to provide free activities for families to increase mental health awareness and reduce stigma,” said Linda Monkman, Children’s Services & Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Coordinator for the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health. “We are all so grateful to be recognized by the Office of Mental Health on our efforts to empower families and help them feel less isolated as they deal with their children’s behavioral health challenges.”

The Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week Committee of Dutchess County was honored by the Office of Mental Health for its extraordinary commitment to children’s mental health issues and its overwhelming outreach during the Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week and year-round.

‘What’s Great in Our State’ is an annual event hosted by the New York State Office of Mental Health, the New York State Council on Children and Families, and a number of children’s mental health advocacy organizations which celebrates individuals and programs that are successfully advancing the cause of children’s mental health in New York State. The event features a reading of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement proclaiming the week as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, a ceremony recognizing people and programs creating positive change in the children’s mental health system, and an art show featuring artwork created by children receiving services from New York State’s mental health system.

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, a national event, seeks to raise awareness about the importance of children’s mental health and to show that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development from birth.