This effort to support families and students in Prince George’s County continues to grow \u2014 now other celebrities are helping. <\/p>\n
OXON HILL, Md. \u2014 With youth mental health concerns on the rise, Prince George\u2019s County leaders are teaming up with local advocates \u2014 and Hollywood star power \u2014to expand access to support and resources.<\/p>\n
A multicultural arts and wellness summit kicks off this weekend at National Harbor, spearheaded by County Council Chair Edward Burroughs in partnership with award-winning actress and DMV native Taraji P. Henson.<\/p>\n
The event, aimed at addressing the mental health crisis among young people, comes as new data reveals nearly 20% of Prince George\u2019s County high school students have seriously considered suicide. Ten percent have attempted it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese numbers are alarming,\u201d said Burroughs. \u201cIt\u2019s so important that we introduce mental health in a way that\u2019s not so stuffy or taboo.\u201d<\/p>\n
For students like Marley Cashwell, a senior at Oxon Hill High School, the support feels personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just good to know that someone is actually listening and working towards making our lives a little better,\u201d Cashwell said.<\/p>\n
The summit is backed by the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Henson in honor of her late father, who struggled with untreated mental health issues. Since launching in the spring, the initiative has rapidly grown, drawing celebrity advocates including Megan Thee Stallion and Sherri Shepherd.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very grateful and very blessed,\u201d said Burroughs. \u201cTo bring all that star power here to District 8, to love on our residents in this way, means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cashwell, who attended a similar event in May, said the experience helped shift student attitudes toward mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re more aware and appreciative of mental health initiatives and events,\u201d he said. \u201cIt lets us know that adults care. We\u2019re not going unheard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The timing couldn\u2019t be more urgent. County leaders say the effects of the federal government shutdown have rippled through the community, especially among federal workers and contractors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever there\u2019s economic hardship, it absolutely has an impact on people\u2019s mental health,\u201d Burroughs said.<\/p>\n
The summit aims to equip residents with practical tools and access to licensed professionals, all while using creative arts to engage youth in healing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the way technology is, and the way times are changing, things can get really, really hard,\u201d said Cashwell. \u201cThis shows us someone is paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
A special brunch event scheduled for Sunday morning will feature several celebrities at the National Harbor, where organizers say a special announcement is also expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This effort to support families and students in Prince George’s County continues to grow \u2014 now other celebrities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[97,259,260],"class_list":{"0":"post-221056","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}