Buildings to light up green for Mental Health Month

The Līhuʻe Civic Center and Wilcox Medical Center will be lit green throughout May for Mental Health Month.

Green is the national color of mental health acceptance, representing hope, strength, support and encouragement for people who live with mental health concerns.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health and its partners are joining together to encourage Hawaiʻi residents to foster acceptance of mental health care and end the prejudice and discrimination that create barriers to seeking treatment.

In Hawaiʻi, about 21.5% of adults had a mental illness in the past year, according to 2021 and 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health state-level estimates.

Additionally, the 2022 Hawaiʻi Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) showed that in the state, more than one in three adults (35.8%) reported at least one day in the past 30 days when their mental health was not good and one in eight adults (12.5%) have been told by a health professional that they had a depressive disorder.

DOH Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division (CAMHD), Adult Mental Health Division (AMHD), the Children’s Mental Health Acceptance (CMHA) Planning Hui and community partners are participating in this effort to positively impact social change by focusing on equity and inclusion for people with mental health concerns.

Mental Health Month encourages people to start the difficult conversation about caring for our mental well-being, which is a significant public health issue for all ages:

• One in six youth has a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder.
• One in five adults lives with a mental health concern.
• One in four older adults ages 65 years or older will experience a mental health concern.

The 2021 Hawaiʻi Youth Risk Behavior Survey data for children and youth revealed some key findings:

• More than half of public school students (54% of middle school and 56% of high school students) never or rarely got the help they needed (among students who reported having felt sad, empty, hopeless, angry or anxious).
• Of public middle school students, 34% have felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row, so they stopped doing some usual activities and 27% have seriously thought about killing themselves.
• Of public high school students, in the past 12 months, 35% felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row so that they stopped doing some usual activities and 17% have seriously considered attempting suicide.

“It’s time for us to move from awareness of children’s mental health concerns to acceptance,” said Keli Acquaro, acting administrator for CAMHD. “This means that we need to accept that mental health concerns are a part of the human condition and focus on how we can build more supportive and nurturing communities for our keiki. We can all do our part by showing the young people in our lives that we care.”

“In light of recent disasters and tragedies, it is even more critical that residents have access to responsive, comprehensive, and culturally sensitive mental health support,” said Dr. Courtenay Matsu, acting administrator for AMHD.

If you or someone you know is experiencing an emotional crisis, thoughts of suicide, in need of extra emotional support or resources to help with substance use, call, text, or chat Hawai‘i CARES 988 free 24/7 call center to connect with a locally trained counselor who can help with linkage to behavioral health crisis services. Call Aloha United Way 211, or text, chat or email for over 4,000 local resources.

For more information about children’s mental health services, visit https://health.hawaii.gov/camhd/. For more information about adult mental health services, visit https://health.hawaii.gov/amhd/.