By Julie Gomez
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an opportunity to bring more intentional and visible conversations about mental health into our communities.
Visibility and awareness matter, but meaningful change is not created in a single moment or a single month. It is built over time, through consistent effort, intentional investment and a willingness to engage in conversations that are not always easy.
Across West Virginia, we are seeing that work take shape.
Over the past year, we have expanded the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in West Virginia’s presence, strengthened partnerships and deepened engagement in communities across the state. From increased advocacy at the Capitol to the launch of West Virginia’s first Teen Mental Health Awareness Week, our focus has been clear: meet people where they are and build something that lasts.
Mental health is not a one-time conversation. It is an ongoing part of how we live, how we connect and how we support one another. For many, that conversation is deeply personal.
Mental health influences everything from workforce stability to economic strength. When individuals are not supported or at their best, that impact carries into our workplaces, our families and our communities.
We often talk about shared experiences, but the truth is that not everyone is ready to share. Some conversations happen out loud with trusted friends or family. Others remain private, carried quietly and worked through in ways that are not always visible to others. Both are valid.
What matters is creating a culture where individuals feel supported, whether they choose to speak openly or simply take steps forward on their own terms. That is where this work becomes real.
This month, we are taking another step forward through a new partnership with Born This Way Foundation, joining the Generation Be There campaign to expand youth-focused mental health education across West Virginia.
At the center of this effort is the Be There Certificate, a free, self-paced online training designed to help individuals recognize when someone may be struggling, understand how to respond and connect them to the support they need. Built around a simple, practical framework, the program equips people with tools they can use in real, everyday moments.
As part of this initiative, NAMI in West Virginia is leading the statewide rollout, integrating the training into schools, youth-serving organizations and community settings.
“This partnership represents a powerful step forward for mental health in West Virginia,” I’ve said often, because it’s true. Aligning with a national leader like Born This Way Foundation reinforces the work we are doing here at home and elevates West Virginia as a model for how states can approach youth mental health.
Bringing this effort to West Virginia builds on the momentum of our recent Teen Mental Health Awareness Week, which brought together educators, providers, policymakers and community leaders from across the state. It reflects a broader commitment to ensuring that individuals, especially young people, have access to the tools and support they need before a moment of crisis, and this work is not limited to young people.
Throughout May, we are also offering a series of virtual trainings that are free and accessible to anyone in West Virginia. These opportunities are designed to meet people where they are and provide practical ways to better understand and support mental health in their daily lives. Awareness is only the starting point. What matters is how it carries into our daily lives, shaping the choices we make and how we show up for ourselves and for others.
Public health becomes real in the choices we make every day. It shows up in how we care for ourselves, when we ask for support and how we respond to others.
Across West Virginia, there is growing recognition that health is not one dimensional. Through expanded programming, stronger partnerships and deeper community engagement, we are beginning to approach it in a more connected and meaningful way.
That commitment also means extending this work into communities of every size, including some of our most rural and hard-to-reach areas. Access to mental health support should not depend on geography, and our focus remains on ensuring individuals and families have resources where they live, not just where services have traditionally existed.
Real change does not come from programs alone. It is built through consistent, everyday actions, and that is not a moment, it is the standard we should be living by.
When we take care of the space within ourselves, we create the conditions for stronger decisions, healthier relationships and more resilient communities. That is where public health begins.
For more information about NAMI in West Virginia and upcoming Mental Health Awareness Month programming, visit namiwheeling.org.
Julie Gomez is the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in West Virginia. NAMI is the largest grassroots mental health organization in the United States.
