Join us for the inaugural "Path to Wellness" 5k Run/Walk on October 1, 2011 at Lakes Park in Ft. Myers.  The event is presented by Lee Mental Health, NAMI Lee County and United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades. 

All event proceeds will remain in our community to assist those with treatment of mental illnesses.

Come show your support for mental health by running or walking, and join us in recognizing Mental Illness Awareness Week.

Click here to register online!

Lee Mental Health Center has officially joined Facebook!

The new social networking page is a resource for Lee Mental Health to share information with the community about upcoming events, as well as general information such as our location, website and phone number.

Visit our new Facebook page, and be sure to "Like" us!

CLICK HERE!  

In an effort to increase blood donations and make giving more fun, Lee Mental Health and Southwest Florida Addiction Services (SWFAS) participated in a "Blood Drive Challenge" to see which agency's employees could donate the most blood.

SWFAS won the first Blood Drive Challenge with a greater percentage of employees donating blood. With 29 employees (19% of total staff), SWFAS beat Lee Mental Health, who had 22 employees (7% of total staff) donate blood. Between the two organizations, 51 employees donated blood, equaling 150 lives saved.

At the end of the day, it's really about our employees giving back to the community that gives us so much every day.

Thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations to SWFAS for winning the "Blood Drive Challenge" trophy for the next year!

The prolonged deployment of soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past decade of war is taking a toll on the mental health of children whose parents serve, according to a new study.

The study, published this month by the American Medical Association, found 16.7 percent of the children included in the research received at least one mental health diagnosis from 2003 to 2006, mostly involving stress disorders or depression. Older children and boys in particular are adversely affected by a parent's deployment, according to the research. And children whose parents were deployed for longer periods fared worse than kids whose caretakers spent less time on active duty.

The study examined data for outpatient and specialty care medical visits between 2003 and 2006 for more than 300,000 children aged 5 to 17 of active-duty Army personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The length of deployment for military parents in the study was 11 months on average during the three-year period.

Mental health diagnoses among boys equaled or exceeded those among girls, except in three categories: somatoform or factitious disorders, neurotic stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Somatoform disorder involves physical symptoms that indicate an illness or injury but cannot be explained by an actual medical condition, while people with factitious disorders deliberately feign or exaggerate symptoms. 

CONTINUE STORY HERE  

Lee Mental Health is seeking backpack donations for kids and families that are in need this upcoming school year.

Any donation is greatly appreciated and is also tax-deductible.

If you would like to make a donation, please contact

Josh Reid at (239) 791-1592 or by email at reidj@leementalhealth.org

Mental illness usually strike individuals in the prime of their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. All ages are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially vulnerable.

SOURCE

If you would like to make a tax-dedutible gift securely

on-line, please visit:

www.leementalhealth.org/giveonline.html

or by contacting Todd Cordisco, VP of Community Relations & Development, at (239) 791-1575 or by email at cordisct@leementalhealth.org.  Your generosity and support is appreciated all year!

Emergency Services are available 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week including holidays by calling (239) 275-4242 or dialing 911. For non-emergency services  or appointments, please call our Welcome Center at (239) 275-3222.

Our fees are affordable and may be adjusted to the means of our clients based on state guidelines. Lee Mental Health accepts Medicaid, Medicare, Visa, MasterCard and some major health insurance providers. Please call us at (239) 275-3222 beforehand to verify your insurance is accepted.

The agency is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Lee Mental Health is also a United Way Partner Agency funded, in part, through contracts with the State of Florida's Department of Children and Families, the Lee County Board of Commissioners, private donations and grants received from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Cape Coral Community Foundation, The Able Trust, the Gannett Foundation, the City of Fort Myers and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida.