Natick Hosting Mental Health Awareness Month Events

NATICK, MA — May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, and Natick officials are honoring the topic with a series of events and activities.

Natick will sponsor four events in May with the hopes of expanding the knowledge of available resources and centering positive conversations around the topic of mental health.

A kickoff event was hosted on May 4, and a "Mental Health Essentials" webinar was held on May 8 with Senate President Karen Spilka.

There are a trio of remaining events this month as well, which are listed below:

• May 13, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. — "Mental health booth at the Natick Farmers Market. Stop by to learn about local mental health resources that are available to Natick community members."
• May 17, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. — "“Youth Discuss Mental Health” webinar, presented by Families for Depression Awareness. Register at https://bit.ly/YouthDiscussMen..."
• May 24, 6 to 8 p.m. — "QPR Suicide Prevention Training” presented by Natick 180 at the Morse Institute Library. Register at https://bit.ly/Natick180QPRTra..."

Natick residents will notice that town buildings will be lit with green light as the sun goes down, as well as green awareness ribbons and National Mental Health Awareness Month messaging throughout the community, including on a banner hanging over North Main Street in downtown Natick during the week of May 15.

"The Town of Natick is committed to participating in National Mental Health Awareness Month in order to encourage community members to take care of their mental health and to reach out for help when needed. It is important that we normalize community conversations about mental health in order to combat the stigma that has historically been a barrier to people seeking support," said Jamie Errickson, Natick Town Administrator.

"I’ve been proud to collaborate with municipal and community leaders to bring these events and activities to Natick residents, and I look forward to building upon these efforts even further in the future."