I’m really honored that I was invited to be the keynote speaker at the 4th annual Broward County Mental Health Summit.
The Summit is presented by the Sheriff’s Foundation of Broward County, Memorial Healthcare System, and UKG, and brings together the mental health providers from county, state and federal government, private practice, non-profits, and academia to discuss and examine the current issues relating to mental health in Broward County. Everyone wanting to learn about the mental health issues facing our communities may attend. We are all shaken by current shootings in our county, so whether you’re a healthcare provider, first responder, aspiring activist unsure of how to contribute, an accomplished community leader, a business owner, elected official, or just simply a concerned citizen, you’ll walk away with concrete data, information tools, and a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with mental health issues.
Being held during National Suicide Prevention month and on the tails of Covid, this year’s theme is both timely and relevant. The theme is Bouncing Back Together: Wellness, Empowerment, Resilience, and Connection. After having been home from school for a year, and starting to get back to seeing people in-person, this theme is right on point for a lot of us who felt stressed or overwhelmed by the past year. And speaking from a teen’s perspective, it’s so important to raise awareness so people know that they are not alone. Everyone gets sad or anxious sometimes, and I’m glad that I have the opportunity to continue the conversation and help end the stigma.
Visit http://browardmentalhealthsummit.com/ to learn more information about this free event which will be streamed live on September 9th 2021.
Thank you to the Boca Observer for publicizing the event: https://bocaratonobserver.com/community/around-town/bouncing-back-together/
I also want to thank the amazing Yolanda-Cash Jackson for agreeing to introduce me. That means so much to me because we both had the same mentor, my Grandpa Alan.
And thanks to my mom, Marni Becker-Avin, as always, for being my sounding board, agent, mentor, teacher, publicist, scheduler, event planner, editor, and basically, for her constant support in everything I do. Wuf Shanti could not be what it is without her hard work and dedication, and I’m very grateful.
To read about how the speech went and my thoughts about it: https://wufshanti.com/2021/09/14/mentalhealthkeynotespeech/
To watch the speech and/or an excerpt:
Mental Health Speech: https://youtu.be/xFbe6hgaIbc
Excerpt: https://youtu.be/3U5wpDqJt_o