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Naples, Fl – The David Lawrence Centers, Collier County’s only comprehensive, not-for-profit mental health and substance use treatment facility serving children, adults and families, is pleased to announce that in honor of May’s National Mental Health Awareness Month, they will open up their main campus off of Golden Gate Parkway (6075 Bathey Lane) to families, friends, clients and supporters for a free, educational, action packed, fun afternoon at their first-ever Mental Health Fair and Open House on Friday, May 20, 2016 from 3:00 – 5:30 p.m.

The Mental Health Fair and Open House will celebrate mental wellness with community partner resource tables representing health, wellness and mental health providers, free mental health screenings, campus tours and brief 15-minute educational presentations on the signs and symptoms of mental illness and substance use. Kids and adults alike will also relish the chance to meet the furry mental health partners – a Clydesdale therapy horse and pet therapy dog.

Attendees will enjoy fun lawn games and contests, a feelings art project, children’s art therapy showcase, crafts, an “expressive” photo booth, face painting and exercise and yoga demonstrations all while networking with like-minded mental health advocates and health conscious members of our community.

Plus there will be healthy snacks from local vendors, drinks and awesome prize drawings such a bikes, tablets, gift baskets, a yoga membership, gift cards and more.

Mental Health Month was started nearly 70 years ago by Mental Health America, to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of good mental health for everyone. This year’s Mental Health Month theme is “Life with a Mental Illness” which is a call to action to share what life with a mental illness feels like to someone going through it.

David Lawrence Centers is participating in this month-long awareness generating event by creating a positive, healthy dialogue for our community about mental health and the feelings associated with them from the inside out. The goal of the event is to help attendees understand how common mental illnesses are and what it is like to live with them, fight stigma, talk about mental health, encourage people to assess their own mental health through use of screening tools or by seeing a mental health professional, and have people share their personal experience with mental illness.

David Lawrence Centers CEO Scott Burgess said, “By encouraging people to talk about mental health it will give more people a voice to feelings, fears, hopes and dreams so they can be empowered to change the trajectory of their own lives for the better and/or help those we love change theirs. We hope this event will encourage people to speak up and speak out through the plethora of fun and interactive opportunities available to express yourself and your feelings while celebrating the many ways our resource partners can support our mental health and wellness.”

Community partners who will be present to date include David Lawrence Centers, Survivors of Suicide, Home Base Veteran and Family Care, Home Care Assistance of Naples, Florida Art Therapy Services, PAWS Assistance Dogs, Naples Equestrian Challenge, Max Flex Fitness, Open Minds Zen Center, Gulf Shore Apothecary, Green Monkey Yoga, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Molina Healthcare, Park Royal Hospital, Fresh Fit Foods and Kona Ice.

Sponsors to date include Beasley Broadcasting, Naples Florida Weekly and Home Care Assistance of Naples. For sponsorship opportunities or more information, please visit DavidLawrenceCenter.org or call 239-304-3505.

David Lawrence Centers is the Southwest Florida-based, not-for-profit leading provider of behavioral health solutions dedicated to inspiring and creating life-changing wellness for every individual. The Center provides innovative, comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, residential and community based prevention and treatment services for the one in four local children and adults who experience mental health, emotional, psychological and substance use challenges. David Lawrence Centers has seven locations in Collier County and touches the lives of more than 50,000 people each year. For more information about David Lawrence Centers call (239) 491-7602 or visit www.DavidLawrenceCenter.org.

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