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HomeCommunityOrganizationsSigma Theta Omega Supports Mental Health Awareness Community Impact Day April 8

Sigma Theta Omega Supports Mental Health Awareness Community Impact Day April 8

Designed to raise awareness about mental health in the African American community, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc (AKA) will support National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Community Impact Day on Saturday, April 8.

The members of the Sigma Theta Omega (STO), which is a chapter of AKA in the St. Thomas-St. John District, will distribute information on mental health, and continue its efforts to support family and friends of individuals with mental health issues.

The sorority has partnered with the local NAMI to serve as advocates increasing awareness of mental health illness in the territory. NAMI St. Thomas offers a Family Support and Education Group that meets at 6 p.m., every first Monday of the month at the Roy L. Schneider Hospital, second floor conference room.

According to the Office of Minority Health, African Americans are more likely to experience mental health problems than the general population. Common mental health disorders among African Americans include: major depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, suicide, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Facts about Mental Illness

  • 1 in 5 Americans live with a mental disorder; estimates indicate that nearly two-thirds of all people with a diagnosable mental illness do not seek treatment.
  • Between 25 percent and 40 percent of all Americans with mental illness will at some point pass through the criminal justice system. Stigma leads to prejudice and discrimination and poor treatment of those with mental illness.
  • Half of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14; three-quarters begins by age 24.

About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. (AKA) is an international service organization, founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college educated women. Alpha Kappa Alpha is comprised of more than 283,000 members in 989 graduate and undergraduate chapters.

About the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

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