Mental Health and Civil Rights: Resources for Building Bridges

Chances are, you know someone with a mental illness. Chances are you have experience with mental illness. According to the National Alliance for Mental Illness,

• One in five American adults experience a mental illness in a given year.
• Nearly one in 25 Americans live with a major mental illness.
• 20 percent of kids aged 13-18 live with a mental health condition
• 60 percent of people with a mental illness didn't receive treatment in the previous year.
• Most violence is committed by people without mental illness; those with a mental illness are at ten times the risk of becoming victims of violence.
• 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 46% live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders.
• 70% of youth in juvenile justice systems have at least one mental health condition and at least 20% live with a serious mental illness.
• Approximately 20% of state prisoners and 21% of local jail prisoners have “a recent history” of a mental health condition.
• Poverty and race affect access to mental health care in the US.

The library has a relaxation room? It's a good place to close the door, dim the lights, turn on the tabletop fountain, and de-stress. You'll find it on the main floor toward the back of the library.

There are 5 therapeutic llight boxes located throughout the library (east and west perimeters on each floor) and are available for anyone to use. More information and instructions for use are provided at each machine.

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