Submitted by The Council on Substance Abuse- NCADD July 19, 2016
Montgomery, AL– The Council on Substance Abuse- NCADD (COSA- NCADD) hosted a Mental Health Awareness Month Family Event on July 16, 2016 at the Nehemiah Center. The event was held to bring mental health awareness to the Latino community.
Families were able to obtain information about mental health and substance abuse and how it affects the community. Families were also able to learn about different resources and how to access them. Children had the opportunity to engage in different activities like basketball, face painting, and coloring.
“We wanted to give the Latino community resources on mental health and substance abuse” said Coalition Coordinator and Behavioral Prevention Specialist Margarita Bentacourt. “The Latino community is in the dark about the resources that they can use.”
According to National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 16.3% of Hispanic adults in the U.S. are living with a mental condition. Between 2008 and 2012, only 5.5% of Hispanic men used mental health services while 9.2% of Hispanic women used mental health services.
Several local businesses helped sponsor the Family Event with food, gift cards, and giveaways. They included CiCi’s Pizza, Red Lobster, Zoe’s Kitchen, Firebirds, Costco, Ruby Tuesday, Marco’s Pizza, Bonefish Grill, Red Robin, Texas Roadhouse, Moe’s (Eastchase), and Fatman’s Smokehouse BBQ.
Local organizations also participated with the event. The Family Guidance Center and Help Me Grow Alabama set up vendor booths to pass out information.
The mission of COSA-NCADD is to reduce the incidence and prevalence of the disease of alcoholism, other drug addiction diseases, and related problems. For more information about COSA- NCADD call 334-262-1629 or visit www.cosancadd.org
All rights reserved, 2016.
