Your mental health is becoming a growing concern at the Door County Public Health Department.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated one-in-five Americans live with a mental health illness, with anxiety and depression the most common conditions they face. That includes one in seven American children with a diagnosed mental health condition.
According to the Door County Community Health Improvement Plan, mental health was the top concern among residents. Complicating the issue is insufficient resources to give people the health they need. There is one mental health provider for every 780 residents, far worse than the state and national average.
Door County Public Health’s Shauna Blackledge says they have been active, working with other organizations to do what they can to address mental health in the community. Hosting screenings of the Screenagers docuseries, empowering organizations like JAK’s Place and the United Way of Door County with its programming, and partnering with Door County Medical Center on the CredibleMind online platform are just some strategies the department has helped develop. Blackledge says the focus is on prevention as much as possible, as they try to improve the mental health landscape before a crisis arises.
The United Way of Door County and the area’s school districts are hosting motivational speaker Percy Brown, Jr., to discuss screen time awareness, an issue Blackledge always hears from parents. Brown will address how excessive screen time is a growing public health concern because of its adverse physical and mental health impacts. The presentation will occur from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Crossroads at Big Creek in Sturgeon Bay. You can hear more about the presentation and other mental health initiatives by listening to our full interview with Blackledge at this link.
