May 7, 2020
May Mental Health and Substance Use Awareness Month
Kylie Nelson, a youth board member of LowCountry Alliance for Health Youth (LCAHY) and President of Teens for Healthy Youth (THY) at May River High School, delivered a message to her peers via Facebook during COVID-19. The purpose of Kylie’s message is to educate her peers that smoking, vaping, or juuling increase health risks related to COVID-19. Kylie hopes her peers will take her message seriously and abstain from these risky behaviors. This message is part of LowCountry Alliance for Healthy Youth’s broader public health awareness campaign. THY and LCAHY acknowledge that Mental Health Awareness is especially important now as social distancing may increase individuals’ risk for anxiety, depression, and drug use. Teens for Healthy Youth plan to deliver a message each day during National Prevention Week May 10th to May 16th to encourage positive teen health. LCAHY is also working with the Towns of Hilton Head and Bluffton to issue proclamations to increase awareness of the significance of May Mental Health and Substance Use Awareness Month.