Ypsi schools and other Washtenaw County organizations to host mental health awareness fair

While May is Mental Health Awareness Month, many Washtenaw County organizations want the community to be thinking about mental health year-round. In an effort to normalize mental health discussions and provide resources to Washtenaw County residents, Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS) is hosting a Mental Health Awareness Fair at Prospect Park, 550 N. Prospect Rd. in Ypsilanti, on Saturday, May 20 from 12-3 p.m. The fair is free and open to the public.

Along with guest speakers with lived mental health experience, the event will feature community vendors presenting family activities, music, games, therapy animals, and snacks to provide what organizer Taryn Willis calls a “fun but meaningful, resourceful event.” 

“We’re bringing people together in a space where … we’re having those collective experiences [and] we are collectively healing,” says Willis, who is also a contractor for YCS. “It’s not just coming to get information. We’re coming to be together and to spend that time together to have these really important, crucial conversations.” 

For the event, YCS is partnering with three organizations: Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students (TRAILS), the National Alliance on Mental Illness Washtenaw County (NAMI), and Family and Community Empowerment (FACE). 

“We are connecting people of the community with the resources of the community,” says Audra Adu, site coordinator for TRAILS. “A big thing that makes it difficult for people to reach out for help is they don’t know where to go, so that’s why we’re bringing resources to one central area.” 

YCS is already partnered with TRAILS, an organization that implements school-delivered mental health programs, but the district also engaged NAMI and FACE for the fair to ensure the event covers everyone’s mental health needs. 

Organizers are working on hiring translators for non-English-speaking families at the event. Organizers emphasize that they wish to create an accessible opportunity for community members to learn and receive more information on mental health and how to navigate available resources. 

If the fair goes well, organizers says they hope to collaborate on similar events in the future. 

Layla McMurtrie is a recent Eastern Michigan University graduate and former editor-in-chief of The Eastern Echo. She has a passion for arts and culture and hopes to tell the stories of underrepresented Michigan residents.

Image courtesy of YCS.