Mental Health News

Two live reindeer visited residents at the Fellowship Community continuing care retirement community in Whitehall Township on Tuesday.

After 40 years with the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, CEO Deb Fries-Jackson is retiring. The Allentown native and former school teacher was instrumental in the merger of the local Girls Club and Boys Club in 2002.

LehighValleyNews.com and PBS39 hosted a community conversation on interfaith relations amid the Israel-Hamas war. The program also contained advice on how to manage social media and speak to children about the unrest.

The Allentown School District held Unity Day events at its 15 elementary schools on Wednesday. The message at each focused on bullying prevention, as October is National Bullying Prevention Month.

The conflict in Israel has played out across social media. The graphic nature of the videos and stories can have an impact on your mental health, according to a Lehigh Valley therapist.

WLVR's Megan Frank talks with reporters Tom Shortell and Brittany Sweeney.

The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Lehigh County is starting its LOSS Team, which will serve as first responders to assist families caught in the immediate aftermath of a suicide.

DeSales University professor Elisabeth Felten is in her second year teaching non-traditional, special needs adults to give them a college experience.

An upcoming event in the Lehigh Valley aims to educate people about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. It’s a topic not often talked about that plagues a number of new parents.

A mental health summit at St. Luke's hosted healthcare workers, legislators, and community members. The panel addressed issues treating mental health problems and how to work towards fixing the crisis.

Hasshan Batts, executive director of Promise Neighborhoods of Lehigh Valley, has been named a Fulbright Specialist. He will travel abroad to share his expertise with other countries in areas of violence prevention and health care.

After closing its doors in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, New Bethany South Side Drop-in reopened on Monday.

Chris Yarnell is working to help Veterans.

The offices that help Pennsylvanians keep their Medicaid benefits are facing persistent vacancies and a heavy workload. Advocates and staff fear people could lose coverage as a result.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after six weeks of inpatient treatment for clinical depression, with plans to return to the Senate in mid-April.

The students of Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Bethlehem are planning a mental health awareness social media campaign.

A six-month investigation found the state’s “competency” review system is so broken it often extends incarceration, which can exacerbate mental health issues.

Born without legs and a victim of child abuse, Zion Clark is a motivational speaker and athlete who shared his story through a Netflix documentary. He will be in Allentown to speak to the public.

The number of people experiencing mental health issues went up as a result of the pandemic. Lehigh Valley psychotherapist Shonda Moralis talks about what she is seeing and hearing from her patients.

Advocates and service providers fear a proposed $20 million funding increase for community mental health services would not go far enough.

The Lehigh Valley will host a marathon for the first time since the pandemic started. Registration will open this month for the St. Luke’s D&L RaceFest.

Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced $52.5 million in grants intended to prevent suicide. Named for Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox, the suicide prevention grant program is now in its second year. Its goal is to fund community-based organizations that work with veterans and their families. Last year, the VA gave awards to three groups in Pennsylvania, including more than $530,000 to St. Luke’s Penn Foundation in Carbon County. Eighty recipients won awards nationwide in the program’s first year. Grant applications are due by May 19 with awards expected to be announced in September. Selected organizations will receive funding for 2024. More information on how to apply is available at mentalhealth.va.gov.