Inspired Voices in Twin City Times

Read Story, Page 9

On May 8, 2006, across the nation, many communities will once again celebrate National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day by planning activities that are creative and meaningful for their individual communities. The theme for the day is "Thriving in the Community".

Tri-County Mental Health Services, the area’s largest and most comprehensive provider of mental health services for children, will observe the event by reaching out to children and families through public libraries. Focusing on its groundbreaking work to develop a "Trauma-Informed System of Care" for children with severe emotional disturbances, the agency will offer informational toolkits for public libraries to share with their communities. The toolkits will contain a resource list of books for children from grade school to high school that address the issues of mental health, free bookmarks for children, youth, and families, and other resource information.

Tri-County Mental Health Services is Maine’s most comprehensive agency dealing with the psychological and social well-being of children, adults, and elders. TCMHS serves over 6,000 individuals each year with innovative programs and services addressing mental health, substance abuse, mental retardation/developmental disabilities, autism, and more. Its philosophy of building toward recovery and sensitivity to traumatic experiences of consumers gives hope to individuals, families, and communities in Androscoggin, Northern Cumberland, Franklin and Oxford counties. For information about Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, call 783-9141 x 300.