Leominster, MA – UMass Memorial – HealthAlliance Hospital and The SHINE Initiative held an event on October 1st to kick off National Mental Health Awareness Month. The event was titled “Removing the Stigma “and featured a panel of community members. Joining the panel discussion was Community Member, Matt Griffin; Youth Outreach Coordinator for the SHINE Initiative, Megan Sullivan; Community Member, Angela Wallace and Executive Director of the SHINE Initiative, Paul Richard. Each panelist spoke about their personal experiences of living with a mental illness or living with a family member with mental illness and their journey of helping to remove the stigma. The event was moderated by Deborah Weymouth, President & CEO of UMass Memorial- HealthAlliance Hospital. “For our region, Behavioral Health is something that we at UMass Memorial -HealthAlliance Hospital take very seriously. We continue to work collaboratively with community partners to make a positive impact when treating patients that come through our doors. We are hopeful that this panel will be stepping stone to a community response,” stated Deborah Weymouth.
Photo 1: Panelist Megan Sullivan talks about her experiences and how she is helping to remove the stigma of mental illness.
Photo 2: (Panelists from Left to Right) Megan Sullivan, Matt Griffin, Angela Wallace and Paul Richard.
Please join us for our next community event on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 7:30 am for the “What’s Up Doc” discussion about arthritis and joint replacement by Dr. Robert Jones. The event will be held at the Fidelity Bank, Leominster Connector branch in the Community Room. The event is free and light refreshments will be served but registration is required. Please contact Amanda Landry, 978-466-2341 or alandry@healthalliance.org to register.