May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This year's theme is "Stigma grows in silence. Healing begins in community." Join the library for programs and to connect with local mental health services.
Some library programs related to mental health are highlighted below followed by local and national resources and services.
Library Programs
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LSSI (Lutheran Social Services of Illinois) is hosting programs that utilize creativity and caring for living things to support mental health and reduce anxiety and stress. Come decorate a terra cotta flowerpot that you will take home with seeds to grow.
- Roden branch on Monday, May 4 at 11am
- North Austin branch on Thursday, May 14 at 11am
- Rogers Park branch on Monday, May 18 at 12:30pm
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Trellus will be leading workshops on managing stress and anxiety.
- Albany Park branch on Tuesday, May 5 at 2pm
- Rogers Park branch on May 18 at 6pm
- Edgewater branch on May 26 at 6pm
- NAMI Chicago will be tabling at Little Village's Coffee and Connections program and during Legler's food pantry hours on Thursday, May 14th.
- Check out other library programs for managing stress and anxiety.
- There are also a number of meditation, yoga, and tai chi movement programs scheduled for May and beyond.
Staff from local mental health organizations visit some libraries regularly. Please call to confirm schedules before visiting. We will update this post with more branch visits as they are scheduled.
Chicago and Regional Organizations
Here are some local organizations who offer mental health and other resources and services. To find additional Chicago resources, please visit Find Help, opens a new window or 211 Metro Chicago, opens a new window.
- Chinese American Service League, opens a new window CASL provides behavioral health resources for people at all stages of life.
- Center on Halsted provides therapy and other mental health services for the LGBTQIA+ community.
- Casa Central connects people to social services.
- Inner City Muslim Action Network, opens a new window offers therapy, counseling, and other services.
- American Indian Health Service, opens a new window has a behavioral health department with "culturally informed clinical and support services."
- Esperanza Health Center, opens a new window provides therapy, groups, and other services.
- JCFS Chicago, opens a new window offers mental health and other resources.
- Howard Brown Health provides psychiatric service to current patients.
- Sista Afya Community Care, opens a new window provides "culturally centered" mental health support with a focus on Black women.
- Brave Space Alliance, opens a new window "is a Black trans-led LGBTQ+ Center on the South Side of Chicago that creates and provides affirming and culturally competent services" including mental health.
- Trilogy, opens a new window strives to "enable people in mental health recovery to build meaningful and independent lives through comprehensive and integrated care." They have a drop-in center that is open 7 days per week.
- Trellus supports immigrants and refugees and offers behavioral health services.
- NAMI Chicago offers support groups, classes, and other programs.
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Chicago Department of Public Health's Behavioral Health has programs and services.
- CDPH has mental health clinics around the city
- LSSI offers mental health and addiction services. They also have resources related to housing and other areas.
- Thresholds offers mental health resources. They have Centers for Mental Wellbeing and intensive mental health outreach services. They also offer various creative arts therapy opportunities.
- GRO Community "provides trauma-informed care for boys and men ages 5 and up, focusing on Black and Brown communities and low-income families."
- CTS Community Development provides "trauma-informed care, community support, and behavioral health services."
- The Foundation for Black Women's Wellness is based in Madison, WI.
- Loyola University's Outside Resources for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and Minoritized Students More local and national mental health resources.
National Resources
- Mental Health America, opens a new window has a toolkit with robust information for BIPOC mental health.
- NAMI, opens a new window has information and resources about National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month which started in honor of Bebe Moore Campbell.
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration created a toolkit for mental health
- National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network, opens a new window "is a healing justice organization actively working to transform mental health for queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC)."
- Inclusive Therapists, opens a new window is a directory to find therapist and provides resources for therapists.
- Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health, opens a new window "works to promote awareness of and access to culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services through education, advocacy and resource sharing in order to improve and facilitate access to services for all immigrants."
- Welcome to BWHI! - Black Women's Health Imperative, opens a new window offers resources to Black women
- BIPOC Mental Health Resources Find more resources and directories using this resource from the Davenport Public Library.
Hotlines
- 988 National Crisis and Suicide Lifeline. Call, text, or chat 988 to speak to someone 24/7 in English or Spanish. Check the website for the Deaf Videophone information. More information in Spanish can be found here.
- Call Blackline provides hope and promote social justice for individuals, families and communities through immediate crisis counseling and collecting information on negative consumer, police (which includes stop and frisk of youth and young adult BIPOC individuals) and vigilante contact. Call 1-800-604-5841.
- The Trevor Project has a hotline, chat, and other resources for LGBTQIA+. Call 1-866-488-7386 or text "START" to 678-678.
Books
Check out some of these books about mental health suggested by the adult services collection team.