JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A non-profit organization in Onslow County held its first event Saturday focused on mental health support.<\/p>\n
The Onslow Mental Health Awareness Coalition launched Saturday at Jacksonville Commons. The event was part of a new partnership aimed at making mental health and substance abuse help easier to find. Hundreds attended the event, which gave people a chance to connect with different local resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of providers out here and a lot of people in the mental health community. The kids are out playing and lots of people walking around so we\u2019re happy and hoping that everyone can have the opportunity to have the conversations they need to have,\u201d said Taylor Pementil, co-founder of the Onslow Mental Health Awareness Coalition.<\/p>\n
What started as planning for a one-day event quickly turned into a bigger effort, focused on spotlighting resources and identifying gaps in care.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to Julia and I said hey let\u2019s do a mental health event and when we brought everyone to the table, it ended up being that we saw so many barriers and so many things that needed to be fixed so we made it happen,\u201d Pementil said.<\/p>\n
According to the Onslow County 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment, mental health was the top concern. Julia Benefield, coalition leader, said suicide is a major issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very needed for this county and Onslow county has a higher suicide rate than national and state statistics state so its 22 per hundred thousand people who have committed suicide here so it\u2019s very needed,\u201d Benefield said.<\/p>\n
A new mental health resource guide will go live on their website on June 16. The website will also include information about upcoming events.<\/p>\n
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