The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health on Wednesday launched its “Take Action for Mental Health” campaign that includes health fairs, group bicycle rides, and 5K running events through the month of May.
More than 70 partner organizations, such as Drumming For Your Life Institute, worked with the county mental health department to create the programming, which includes about 180 countywide events during “Mental Health Awareness Month” in May. Sports teams like the Clippers and Dodgers are also hosting events in conjunction with the campaign.
“It’s all to improve well-being and interconnectedness throughout our city,” said Lisa H. Wong, the mental health department’s director, at a meeting Wednesday held at St. Anne’s Conference and Event Center to commemorate the occasion.
The department oversees mental health services throughout L.A. County, which is divided into eight service areas. Several of the events will take place in East L.A.
These include a health fair on May 4 at Belvedere Community Regional Park and a drum circle on May 10 at Obregon Park.
The nonprofit Drumming for Your Life Institute, which uses drumming as a form of musical therapy, is hosting the Obregon Park event, as well as a larger drum circle event at Gloria Molina Grand Park.
Steven Angel, the organization’s president and founder, said Councilmember Kevin de León and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger will participate in the drum circle at Gloria Molina Grand Park alongside L.A. residents.
“While they’re drumming, they’re going to visualize the goals they want to achieve,” Angel said. “This is about how do we implement plans where we have each other’s back and take specific actions to help people. We’re bringing the most [politically] powerful people and the most vulnerable people together in the hopes of making change.”
Darlesh Horn, the mental health department’s division chief, said the month of May “is an opportunity to do a fun time of reflection,” but, she added, “outreach and [prioritizing] mental health is 365 days a year.”
This is also true in Boyle Heights, where Gloria Mendez, a community liaison with the mental health department, helps co-host the Boyle Heights Health Neighborhood Meetings with Alma Family Services on the fourth Tuesday of every month.
There, attendees are provided information about wellness events and services. Facilitators work to help residents deconstruct misconceptions about mental health.
“Some of the issues that we’ve seen include the stigma around mental health, the language barrier, financial barriers within the community,” Mendez said. “We try to connect them with resources and validate these feelings our community members are expressing.”
Stacy Williams, who oversees a service area for the mental health department that includes Boyle Heights, said this campaign is an extension of their work in convincing residents of disenfranchised communities to access mental health services.
“Every road leads back to mental health. Unless you have your personal relationships and mental well-being in balance, the rest of your life will be unbalanced and it’s almost impossible to achieve wellness,” Williams said.
A full list of events is available here.
