Going Green for Mental Health Awareness Month
Local Landmarks Light Up Green Across Santa Barbara County
The leaves aren’t the only thing that’s turning green in Santa Barbara this month. In honor of Mental Health Month, this May, more than 100 landmarks across the nation are lit in green, the color of mental health awareness, including many buildings in Santa Barbara County. The idea: to encourage the public to learn about their well-being and take a mental health screening.
This year’s Mental Health Month theme is Look Around, Look Within. According to a statement, “the campaign focuses on how mental health is impacted by surroundings, including housing, the home environment, neighborhoods and towns, and the outdoors and nature. Mental Health America (MHA) has a full downloadable toolkit of free educational resources to help people understand and change their surroundings in favor of their well-being.”
Local participants that are lighting up green this month include:
- Behavioral Wellness Adult Outpatient Clinic, Calle Real (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Behavioral Wellness Carmen Lane Building (Santa Maria) – all month
- Behavioral Wellness Casa Del Mural (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Behavioral Wellness Del La Vina Building (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Behavioral Wellness La Morada Building (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Behavioral Wellness Lompoc Children’s Clinic (Lompoc) – all month
- Behavioral Wellness Skyway Building (Santa Maria) – all month
- Communify (Santa Maria) – all month
- Communify I Center (Lompoc) – all month
- Communify Toddler Center (Lompoc) – all month
- Family Service Agency, West Chestnut (Lompoc) – all month
- Family Service Agency, South B Street (Lompoc) – all month
- Family Service Agency, West Chestnut (Lompoc) – all month
- Family Service Agency, West Gutierrez Street (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Foodbank Sharehouse Administration Center (Goleta) – all month
- Isla Vista Community Center (Isla Vista) – all month
- Lompoc Veterans Memorial Building (Lompoc) – all month
- Mental Wellness Center (Santa Barbara) – all month
- PathPoint, Laguna Street (Santa Barbara) – all month
- PathPoint, Professional Parkway (Santa Maria) – all month
- PathPoint, West Haley Street (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Santa Barbara County Agnes Building (Santa Maria) – all month
- Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness Building #3 (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Santa Barbara County Courthouse (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Santa Maria Administration Building (Santa Maria) – all month
- Santa Maria Agnes Building (Lompoc) – all month
- Santa Maria Valley Youth & Family Center (Santa Maria) – all month
- SBC Behavioral Wellness Children’s Clinic (Santa Barbara) – all month
- SBC Lompoc Administration Building (Lompoc) – all month
- SBC Office of Emergency Management (Santa Barbara) – all month
- Zona Seca (Santa Barbara) – all month
Mental Health Month is a time to raise awareness, educate the public about mental health conditions and the importance of prevention and early intervention, reduce the stigma that surrounds these conditions, and encourage screening. MHA offers free, anonymous, clinically validated screenings at MHAScreening.org.
Members of the public are asked to post photos of landmarks lighting up green on Instagram and tag @MentalHealthAmerica.
