More than 50 organizations focused on mental health participated in ECU Health’s 13th annual Mental Health Expo on Thursday, May 22.
The event, held at Eastern AHEC in Greenville, was free for everyone and helped connect community members with resources available in eastern North Carolina. Glenn Simpson, executive director for behavioral health at ECU Health, said that is the most important part of the Expo – ensuring everyone knows who to connect with if they or a loved one are in need.
“Mental health is health, mental illness is a disease, substance use disorder is a disease, it’s not a character flaw or something like that,” Simpson said. “We want people to know, because there is a stigma attached to mental health in many ways, that it is OK to ask for help. When you want to ask for help, we want to make sure people know who to ask. This is to help eastern North Carolina become aware of the resources available to them.”
Simpson said one in five adults in the United States suffer from a diagnosable mental illness and taking a moment to talk with a provider or a professional about your mental health is just as important as discussing blood pressure and other physical health needs.
The event also featured three presentations on mental health – two by psychiatrists and one by a therapist – covering nature’s benefit on mental health, the mind-body connection and more.
“Having experts here to bring their perspectives and understanding to this community is a great opportunity. I think it’s a great chance for folks to hear from professionals about small ways to improve mental health, like getting outside or healthy lifestyle choices,” Simpson said. “We’re just grateful to have everyone here working toward the same goal and helping get people to the resources they may need.”
He also said it was an exciting opportunity to share information about the upcoming state-of-the-art, 144-bed behavioral health hospital in Greenville, slated to open in 2025.