By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
From podcasts to advertisements and social media posts to newsletters, the Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board is working hard to bring mental health awareness to the forefront in Wood County.
Courtney Rice, manager of community education and marketing at National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Wood County, shared an update on mental health marketing and education efforts from the past year at Monday night’s ADAMHS board meeting.
“Overall, our efforts have been to increase and continue to educate, build relationships and disseminate information,” Rice said.
Quarterly themes included We All Have Baggage to Carry, Grow Your Mind, All Feelings Are Okay and Staying Mentally Well. They used print advertising a total of 23 times in local publications including newspapers in Bowling Green, Rossford and Perrysburg, and numerous special community publications.
Their social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn has seen an 8% increase in audience growth. Consistent and original posts include Self-Care Sundays on the second and fourth Sundays, Did You Know on the first and third Tuesdays and Wednesday Wisdom of positive affirmations on the first and third Wednesdays.
Mental health awareness has also been promoted in Spotify and Pandora ads and on The Morning Show with Clint Corpe (88.1 FM) on the first Monday of the month.
One of the most progressive and informative initiatives has been the addition of Stigma Busters, a monthly podcast started to provide an opportunity for clinicians, agency partners and community members to be heard and share stigma-busting myths about mental illness. Resources and self-care tips are also offered during the podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Pocket Cast.
Twenty-five episodes have covered topics such as eating disorders awareness, crisis stabilization, youth mental health, how faith and mental health come together, assisted outpatient treatment, and busting the holiday blues. There have been more than 800 streams and the listeners, to date, are mostly females between 18 and 24 years of age.
Sponsorship of and attendance at local events are important tools for promoting the county’s mental health services in the community, Rice said. During the past year, board members and mental health organizations’ personnel represented the board and the agencies at the Wood County and Pemberville fairs, as well as several other festivals throughout the year. More than 2,000 people stopped at the county fair booth last year and more than 1,000 people visited the booths during events at North Baltimore and Pemberville.
The board also sponsored the Black Swamp Players, Rossford Halloween Parade, BGSU Athletics and projects at area high schools.
In the coming year, mental health marketing will feature overdose awareness, workplace mental health, suicide prevention and hope after diagnosis.
In other business, the board:
- Tabled a resolution regarding a contract with the Bowling Green Police Division for transporting individuals in a mental health crisis to hospitals or other crisis care facilities. The resolution would renew an expired contract with the police division to provide transportation when no other options are available. Board member Corey Speweik made a motion that the finance committee will review the contract at its next meeting before the board approves the contract. In the meantime, the board approved a motion to extend the most recent agreement until a decision is made on the new contract.
- Heard from interim Director Aimee Coe that four vacant seats remain on the board despite an advertising campaign seeking individuals to apply. The Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services appoints all four seats. They are accepting applications from Wood County residents. They have specific needs to include a person in mental health recovery and a person in substance use disorder recovery; an immediate family member of someone with a mental illness or with substance use disorders; and a behavioral health professional who is not affiliated with a provider who contracts with the board. The application is available on the website and can be submitted to wcadamhs@wcadamh.org.
- Learned that the agency allocation presentations for the next fiscal year will begin at the March 27 board meeting.
