Eve’s Fund joins organizations from around the globe in commemorating World Mental Health Day 2020 on October 10. Celebrated for the first time in 1992, the mission of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues and challenges facing people throughout the world. The organization also mobilizes support for the idea that good mental health is a universal human right.
Mental Health for All
This year’s theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health is “mental health for all.” The goal is to increase financial investment in mental health programs, which have been chronically underfunded for far too long, and to provide greater access to everyone, everywhere.
The challenges brought about from the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting billions of people around the world, have highlighted the importance of mental health and well-being globally.
For the first time ever, the World Health Organization (WHO) will host a three hour online advocacy event on social media on Saturday, October 10, called The Big Event, and will bring together world leaders, mental health advocates and experts, journalists, entertainers and others committed to insuring that quality mental health is available and accessible for any one who needs it. Click the link above to learn how you can participate.
Eve’s Fund: Promoting Good Mental Health
The mission of Eve’s Fund is to promote hope and wellness for young Native Americans living on or near the Navajo Nation in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Good mental health is essential for overall wellness and a feeling of hope for the future, though it is oftentimes a challenge to achieve.
The Native American people we serve are disproportionally impacted by mental health issues as compared to the non-Native population. They experience higher rates of psychological distress and higher rates of poverty and unemployment. Substance abuse issues compound the mental health issues in this population. According to the organization Mental Health America, Native/Indigenous people begin to use and abuse alcohol and other drugs at younger ages, and at higher rates, versus all other ethnic groups.
While this is sobering information, Eve’s Fund is particularly alarmed by the fact that the suicide rate among Native/Indigenous people in America between the ages of 15-19 is more than double that of all other non-indigenous populations . Eve’s Fund is committed to supporting suicide and injury prevention programs that serve young people on the Navajo Nation. One such program we have helped to fund on a regular basis is Native H.O.P.E., peer-counseling curriculum that focuses on suicide prevention and the related risk-factors such as substance abuse, violence, trauma, and depression. Native youth are full of “hope and promise” and need access and opportunity to develop their communication skills, leadership potential and overall well-being.
Attendees at a Native HOPE Suicide Prevention Retreat, co-sponsored by Eve’s Fund
Your donation to Eve’s Fund will help enable us to continue to provide financial support through our community initiatives program to local organizations whose mission is to reduce and eliminate suicide among at-risk young Native Americans. Please consider supporting our suicide-prevention grants and other local programs that promote hope and wellness for the young, vulnerable community we serve. Click the button below to make an online donation or for instructions on how to donate by mail.
Hoping you will all find a meaningful way to celebrate World Mental Health Day, even if it just something as small as calling someone you care about and letting them know how much they are loved. That small act of kindness will brighten their day. Please take care of yourself and each other.
