Lynn library spreads mental illness awareness

LYNN ? The Lynn Public Library is promoting July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month with help from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).According to Chief Librarian Theresa Hurley, a display has gone up in the lobby of the library with pamphlets, books and other literature in an attempt to spread awareness of the mental illnesses that are faced by some cultural and ethnic minorities who may not have easy access to the services that they need.According to NAMI statistics, African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans used mental health services at about one-half the rate of whites in the past year and Asian-Americans at only one-third the rate.?We are hoping to raise the visibility of the issue. Even if people know, they don’t always put it in the right cultural context,” said Ilya Cherkasov, who is with NAMI. “Twenty-five percent of adults in the U.S. have directly faced some kind of mental illness, which means that almost everyone is affected in some way through relationships with these people. We hope to rearrange people’s perception and educate them on mental illness.”Cherkasov said that they teamed up with libraries because they’re a relevant way to spread information and awareness about the issue because most already have at least some books on the subject, and NAMI hopes to introduce more into their collection.Campbell was a best-selling author on the subject and became a very vocal advocate for minorities suffering from mental illnesses. According to NAMI’s website, the U.S. House of Representatives proclaimed July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month in 2008 intending to improve access to mental health treatment and services for multicultural communities through increased public awareness.Eric Adrien may be reached at [email protected].