Mental Health News

The next two Wednesdays in June, Ott will be hosting "Breathe Easy" Lunchtime Plant Therapy workshops at A Little Bit of Local at ArtsWalk, 21 N. Seventh St. in Allentown.

The third annual Revolutions for Inclusion Bike Ride raises money for the Easter Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center. A local father's memory lives on through the third annual fundraising event.

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, is the architect of a bill that would allocate $100 million of federal American Rescue Plan funding for mental health programs. It passed the House last week and is under state Senate consideration.

The smoke may be clearing, but anxiety from the eerie event may stick with us. A Lehigh Valley therapist has some ways to get past the uneasy feelings left behind after this week's smoke-filled skies.

Allentown school board is considering whether Raub Middle School would benefit from a $1.2 million grant where several community groups would work with at-risk middle school students over two years, under a proposed plan.

The bill, spearheaded by state Rep. Mike Schlossberg, would dedicate American Rescue Plan money to training mental health care providers, creating more suicide prevention programs and supporting specialty courts.

The 21st Century program is to help students with academic support and art and music enrichment.

Loneliness, isolation and social disconnect are a public health crisis in the United States. Brittany Sweeney hosts a community conversation to examine the factors that contribute to isolation — and what we can do to avoid it.

A housing facility for inmates with severe mental illness is now open in Northampton County. The Shiloh Restoration Center will have 8-beds and provide mental and behavioral health support.

The free classes will take place at Cedar Beach and ArtsWalk parks through June, with the Cedar Beach sessions extending through the summer. The classes are a partnership between the yoga studios and the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

Lehigh Valley Health Network honored trauma survivors and their families on National Trauma Survivors Day. One man shared his story of survival and how he copes with lingering effects.

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center hosted a virtual event about the state of mental health in the LGBTQ community.

People without a permanent place to stay should "enjoy the same rights as the rest of us who have a house," Allentown Commission on Homelessness chair Abigail Goldfarb said.

Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Talking to children about their mental health can be challenging for parents. During Mental Health Awareness Month, educators are sharing how they address the topic with kids.

A panel of young people, ranging from middle-school-aged to college, shared their thoughts on mental health and health care in a conference organized by Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital. They all had one thing in common — direct experience.

The Palmer Recovery Center is the site of a free trauma-informed yoga class every Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. The class helps veterans with their mental health struggles.

The U.S. surgeon general issued a public health advisory about loneliness, isolation and lack of connection. The health consequences are enormous — equivalent by some estimates to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Lehigh Valley Mental Health Awareness Walk offers the public education and resources. Behavioral health needs are growing.

The $25,000 fund, offered by Lehigh and Northampton counties, will be used to support the schools' Aevidum program.

On July 1, the Girls on the Run Lehigh Valley and Pocono chapters will merge.

Behavioral health services are moving from the current Allentown VA clinic. Veterans will soon receive mental health treatment at a new office.