NEWS RELEASE
Salem County Board of Chosen Freeholders
Salem County Mental Health Board
98 Market Street. Salem, N.J. 08079
CONTACT: Isaac A. Young
Salem County Mental Health Administrator
(856) 935-7510 x 8492
May 21, 2003
May is Mental Health Month
The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) and its affiliates annually launch the observance of Mental Health Month on Friday, May 1. For more than 50 years, Mental Health Month has led the way as one of the nation’s most recognized health observances.
According to Salem County’s Mental Health Administrator Dr. Isaac A. Young the purpose of this annual celebration is to raise public’s awareness and understanding of mental health and illness. Although research validates that people spend far more time addressing their physical health, than their mental health, mental illness is more common than cancer, lung, and heart disease. Additionally, untreated mental illness can complicate many minor and serious physical disorders and its up to us to convince the public that caring for their mental health is key to living a full and productive life.
Healthcare Commons, located at 500 S. Pennsville-Auburn Road in Carneys Point, NJ is the state designated mental health agency, providing counseling, case management, emergency screening, partial care and residential services.
Additional programs in the County include a supportive employment program administered by the ARC of Salem County to assist persons with mental illness in finding jobs. Catholic Charities has a group home for the mentally ill, and the Family Support Coalition provides advocacy and legal services to persons with mental illness.
There are also two support groups in our county. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) of Salem County and The New Dimensions Self-Help Center, a volunteer group that meets the 1st Monday of each month, at 216 A Merion Avenue, Carneys Point, NJ at 7:00 P.M.
The Salem County Mental Health Board and its support coalitions such as the (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) are dedicated to spreading the word that good Mental Health matters, every day.
For more information please call the Salem County Mental Health Board at .