CAPE GIRARDEAU – Get ready to see Southeast Missouri turn green this May! The Community Counseling Center Foundation is launching its ‘Get Your Green On’ campaign to shine a light on mental health awareness throughout the month. ‘We believe that by working together, we can reduce stigma and ensure that everyone has access to the mental health support they need. Please help us to light up our area by joining in the Get Your Green On campaign,” says Michelle Ramsey, Executive Director of the Community Counseling Center Foundation.
The Foundation encourages everyone to participate by:
* Turn your outdoor spaces green: Symbolize support for mental health by using green in your outdoor lighting, landscaping, or digital signage.
* Become a sponsor of Mental Health Awareness Month: Show your support for mental well-being in our community by displaying yard signs and/or feather banners outside your business or home. Sponsorship opportunities directly fund our vital initiatives and are available for purchase/pickup at 63 Doctors Park or by emailing cccfoundationmo@gmail.com.
* Join Wear Green Fridays throughout May: Unite with your community by wearing green every Friday to visibly demonstrate solidarity and spark important conversations about mental health. Share your photos and spread awareness by using #CCCgetyourgreenon – let’s create a powerful wave of green across Southeast Missouri, showing our collective support!”
There are many additional ways to promote Mental Health Awareness, so get creative and have fun while supporting this important cause. Business sponsorships are still available. For more information, please contact us at (573) 332-2787 or by email at cccfoundationmo@gmail.com.
To highlight the prevalence of mental health challenges in our state, consider these recent findings from the Missouri Department of Mental Health’s 2024 Status Report on Substance Use and Mental Health:
- 5% of Missouri adults (ages 18 and older) had some degree of mental illness in the past year.
- 6% of Missouri adolescents aged 12-17 experienced a past-year major depressive episode.
- 3% of Missouri adolescents aged 12-17 had serious thoughts of suicide.
- 1% of adolescents aged 12-17 made a suicide plan and 4.1% attempted suicide in the past year.
These statistics underscore the urgent need to raise awareness and provide support for mental well-being in Southeast Missouri, making the ‘Get Your Green On’ campaign more vital than ever.
Serving Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Perry, and Ste. Genevieve counties, the Community Counseling Center Foundation is the charity for everyone’s mental well-being. In the past year, the foundation has helped nearly 7,000 individuals access vital mental health services through the support of the Community Counseling Center.