Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month 2022!

By Leah Harris
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It’s Mental Health Awareness month again, and there are nearly unlimited ways to participate, learn, and lift your voice. This year, we’re highlighting some East Bay and California-based events that you won’t want to miss, with both in-person and virtual options to learn, celebrate, and connect. 

​We wish you a most inspiring and energizing Mental Health Awareness Month 2022!
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PEERS National Day of Prayer: A Virtual Day of Remembrance and Healing

May 5, 2022, 11 AM – 1 PM
Online

“This special event will highlight the power prayer and spirituality can have on uplifting mental health. We’ll have guest speakers from faith-based institutions throughout Alameda County with us. Any and all community members are invited to attend and hear words from local spiritual leaders.”
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To register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkc-qrqzMvEt3Zpfu1kMzLz7xDKTdmabQW
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From the Ashes: Film Screening & Black Maternal Mental Health Celebration

Sat, May 7, 2022, 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM 
Oakstop, 1740 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland

“Join the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD)’s #DeliverBirthJustice Campaign for a Mother’s Day event focused on not only celebrating and uplifting Black motherhood, but also for an authentic conversation about Black maternal mental health and the need for ongoing postpartum care and support. This event is co-sponsored by ACPHD’s Starting Out Strong Programs, Alameda Health System’s BElovedBIRTH Black Centering, and  Communion with the Community.”
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To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-the-ashes-film-screening-black-maternal-mental-health-celebration-tickets-316999904247
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Black Healing Remixed: The Summit ​

May 14-15, 2022
In-person and online

“In Black music, a remix is a new or different version of a recorded song. Black Healing Remixed (BHR) takes this same idea and applies it to conversations on Black mental health. Just like a remix switches the treble and bass, BHR switches shame to celebration, stigma to social justice and creates a new chorus of connection rooted in radical love for ourselves, practical skills, and liberation. Black Healing Remixed is brought to you by BEAM, the Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective.”
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To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-healing-remixed-the-summit-2022-tickets-322074873617
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​Mission Possible Fundraising Event: In Honor of Mental Health Awareness Month

May 14, 2022, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Neyborly, 95 Linden St, Suite 1, Oakland

“As a newly formed nonprofit organization in Oakland, Oakland Made Teen Center was established to help Oakland teenagers learn to address their mental health due to current unrest conditions they are experiencing growing up in Oakland. We are establishing a new place for Oakland teens to go after school that meets their technological age and helps them develop a different mindset of thinking in their lives as they are growing up in Oakland. We want the community to partner with us and help us raise funds to make our mission possible as we plant teen centers in the city of Oakland. Explore how Oakland Made Teen Center will function inside the city of Oakland as an after-school youth development program helping Oakland teenagers learn to address their mental health in a teen center atmosphere.”

To RSVP: https://www.oakland-made.org/event-details/mission-possible-fundraising-event-in-honor-of-mental-health-awareness-month

BOSS Bay Area Mental Wellness Block Party
Friday, May 27, 1 – 5 PM
St. Mary’s Center, Oakland

“Join us for community wellness and healing on May 27, 1 to 5 pm for our Mental Wellness Block Party @ St. Mary’s Center – 925 Brockhurst St., with partner organizations collaborating to get the community connected to the services and resources they need to lead more productive lives. Come eat some delicious food, dance a little, play dominoes, win prizes and just let go for the day. The event is free for everyone and will be hosted by our West Oakland Neighborhood Impact Hub in #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth in partnership with @Warriors.”
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For more information: https://happeningnext.com/event/boss-bay-area-mental-wellness-block-party-eid4snvcvs08j1

Leah Harris is a non-binary, queer, neurodivergent, disabled Jewish writer, facilitator, and organizer working in the service of truth-telling, justice-doing, and liberation. They’ve had work published in the New York Times, CNN, and Pacific Standard. You can learn more about their work at their website and follow them on Instagram.