Samar Healthcare Holds Inaugural Mental Health Community Awareness Event
Samar Healthcare is proactive in bringing mental health awareness to our community and is proving its commitment, having hosted its inaugural "Muscle Up Your Mental Health" Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, February 11th, 2023.
Why Muscle Up Your Mental Health event?
The event was held to bring awareness to our community's mental health crisis, continue essential conversations, and offer vital resources as we seek solutions for a better, healthier community.
Forum Panelists:
The forum brought together a formidable set of panelists consisting of:
Dr. Mary Muranja, NP-C / PMHNP, Psychiatric Mental Health & Substance Abuse Expert, Samar Healthcare.
Joan Mwangi, Master Life Coach, Inner Child Healing Advocate & Coach - Unearth A Conscious You.
Theo Foreman, Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC) & Relapse Prevention Specialist - Clean Spirits, LLC
Tameka L. Bell, LPC - Licensed Professional Counselor & Mental Health Expert - Samar Healthcare.
Creating A Safe Space
I have witnessed and seen some of the struggles men have to go through, where they are usually overlooked because they are expected to possess certain characteristics seen as masculine," said Dr. Mary Muranja, convener of the Muscle Your Mental Health Forum.
"Our agenda today is to create a safe dialogue space. Our subject matter experts will talk to us and give us the tools and resources needed to navigate this life."
Part of the reason for putting this forum together was the realization that the pressure for men to be strong, powerful, emotionless leaders, breadwinners, and providers; was a leading cause of the increase in mental health-related illnesses. If a man expresses emotions of any other kind, he is automatically considered weak and lacking in masculinity. Unnecessary pressure for men to live up to these unrealistic gender expectations causes men to suffer in silence, hide and not seek help when needed.
The agenda for the forum was to create a safe space where we could have a dialogue. Subject Matter Experts talked with the attendees and gave them the tools and resources needed to navigate this life. They were encouraged to create a space for themselves, their children, and their loved ones with the understanding that no one person can reduce the stigma against men's mental health. It requires a societal shift, and this starts with conversations within our circles by normalizing the conversations related to mental health and encouraging each other to seek help from people trained to help.
Our Heartfelt Thanks
After a good meal, heartfelt discussions, and a Q&A session time, the forum ended on a high note with the promise of more planned events like this one and a quote from Dr. Muranja, "If we have solid families, we will have healthy and stable communities, leading to a resilient society."
Our heartfelt gratitude to all our incredible partners who made this event possible - Samar Systems, Rannd Consultants, MomentumHope, PFS Productions, Lexron Photography, and New Dawn Av Productions Inc. Take a moment and peruse images below by the talented Lexron Photography team who helped us captured the essence of the day.
Learn more about how Samar Healthcare offers resources and services to deal with mental health illnesses, and connect with us at: www.samarhealthcare.com.