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August is a mix of things to celebrate and be informed about.
August kicks off with National Breastfeeding Awareness Month.
Like all mammals, human mothers are blessed with the ability to produce and feed their babies milk. Breast milk has always held great cultural significance; the ancient Greeks believed that the Milky Way galaxy was formed by a swirl of the goddess Hera’s breastmilk (and that the breastmilk of a goddess could make a mortal invincible). We recognize National Breastfeeding Month every August.
The evidence is clear – breastfeeding saves lives by protecting babies from life-threatening infections and illnesses. If babies were breastfed early and exclusively for the first 6 months, over 820,000 lives could be saved each year!
A world in which women receive support to breastfeed is a world in which women and children thrive. Enabling women to breastfeed for as long as they desire would result in less illness and disease, as breastfeeding plays a key protective role for infant health. Fewer children would die from diarrhea and pneumonia – two of the leading causes of child mortality globally – as well as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)—a leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S.
And it’s not just babies who benefit from breastfeeding. When a mother breastfeeds, she reduces her risk of developing ovarian cancer, breast cancer and heart disease.
Even with all these benefits, there is still a troubling lack of support for breastfeeding women around the world. NO country (including the United States) offers moms the support they need to reach their breastfeeding goals.
This year, let’s commit to creating a world where every mom has the support she needs to breastfeed.
Here’s what you can do:
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Pledge your support for women to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.
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Add an “I Support Breastfeeding” Frame to your Facebook Profile.
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Share your breastfeeding experience and tell us who supported you on your breastfeeding journey, or who you supported to reach their breastfeeding goals.
National Health Center Week (Aug. 6-12)
National Health Center Week is an annual celebration with the goal of raising awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s health centers over the past five decades.
Health centers serve 27 million patients a number that continues to grow along with the demand for affordable primary care. In addition to their long history as health care homes to millions, health centers produce innovative solutions to the most pressing health care issues in their communities and reach beyond the walls of conventional medicine to address the social determinants of health affecting special patient populations. Each year we celebrate the work and services health centers provide to special populations within their community on designated days during the week.
Community Health Centers serve as the beacon of strength, service, and care in their communities. In moments of pain and loss, they offer support and love. In moments of triumph, they offer hope and a vision for the future. Let’s come together this week to celebrate the roles Community Health Centers have played in both our recent moments of loss and triumph. This National Health Center Week is a virtual road trip across the US, highlighting the achievements and amazing work being done in each state and territory. It’s a week for us to take pride in our states/territories and communities, as well as “visiting” our friends across the map to get to know each other.
Other Notable days to celebrate in August are:
Friendship Day (Aug. 6)
Human beings are social creatures and have always valued the importance of friends in their lives. To celebrate this noble feeling it was deemed fit to have a day dedicated to friends and friendship. Accordingly, first Sunday of August was declared as a holiday in US in honor of friends by a Proclamation made by US Congress in 1935. Since then, World Friendship Day is being celebrated every year on the first Sunday in the month of August.
This beautiful idea of celebrating Friendship Day was joyfully accepted by several other countries across the world. And today, many countries including India, celebrate the first Sunday of August as Friendship Day every year. Celebrating Friendship Day in a traditional manner, people meet their friends and exchange cards and flowers to honor their friends. Lot many social and cultural organization too celebrate the occasion and mark Friendship Day by hosting programs and get together.
Wear it Purple Day (Aug. 25)
Wear it Purple Day is an annual LGBTIQA+ awareness day especially for young people, based in Australia. Supporters wear purple to celebrate diversity and young people from the LGBTIQA+ community. The Day is organised by Wear it Purple, a student run, not-for-profit organisation, providing presentations and workshops.
National Women’s Equality Day (Aug. 26)
Women's Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26 to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex.
National Grief Awareness Day (Aug. 30)
August 30 is dedicated to raising awareness of the many ways in which people cope with loss. It offers resources to those who are grieving and reminds others of the importance of supporting those people who are grieving.
Grief is one of the oldest and most difficult aspects of the human experience. If you haven’t experienced it yet, it’s likely to happen at some point.
If you have experienced it, you know of its uniqueness and difficulty. Grief usually arises from the loss of a loved one or someone that was close to us, like a friend or a pet.
For some, grief is managed smoothly and quickly. For others though, grief can be a long and winding road.
It was originally started in 2014 by a woman named Angie Cartwright. As a person who suffered through great loss throughout her life, she decided to dedicate herself to bringing support to people who have suffered from grief and to educate families about the realities of grief and how it affects people’s lives.
International Overdose Awareness Day (Aug. 31)
According to provisional data from the CDC, of the 108,500 reported drug overdose deaths in 2022, 82,136 were attributed to opioids. Additionally, in 2020 there were more unintentional overdose deaths in the workplace than in any other year since data collection began in 2011.
International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) is a global event held Aug. 31 each year to remember those gone too soon from overdose deaths.
Wondering how you can help ?
- Encourage your workplace to participate in IOAD observance activities
- Hold a candlelight vigil
- Offer an educational program, such as one related to preventing opioid use, in partnership with a local organization
- Provide a safe space for telling the stories of overdose victims
- Offer a large canvas and washable paint so survivors can add a handprint in memory of their loved one
- Display empty hats or shoes to represent the number of lives lost in the community
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Add the name of a loved one who died of an opioid overdose to the Celebrating Lost Loved Ones map
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Purchase or create purple wristbands, pins, shirts or other items and wear them on Aug. 31
- Research state and federal legislation that addresses opioid overdose prevention, and write to your representative
Community Resources:
Utilize this website for the following resources
https://americanaddictioncenters.org/
Visit FoundinFaithMD.org/get-help/apply/
to apply to the Fresh Start Furniture Program TODAY!
If you do not have computer access, please call 443-519-2464 ext. 2
ALL FURNITURE REQUESTS ARE SCHEDULED BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
If you need immediate help finding shelter or a place to eat, call 211.
Meals
Baltimore- Our Daily Bread Employment Center
725 Fallsway, Baltimore City
443-986-9000
PG CO- Bethel House 301-372-1700 & Salvation Army of Prince George’s County Food Pantry 301-277-6103
AA CO- Anne Arundel County Food Access WARM Line 410- 222- 3663 &
Anne Arundel County Food Bank
120 Marbury Drive Crownsville, MD 21032
Harford CO- Breathe 379, 2124 Nuttal Ave. Edgewood. Groceries, prepared food, clothes.
& EPICENTER, EPICENTER at Edgewood, 1918 Pulaski Hwy, Edgewood. 443.981.3742.
Mental Health Assistance
National Alliance for Mental Illness
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Call 24/7: 1-800-273-8255
Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc.
Call 24/7: 410-433-5175 if you or someone you know needs help with a mental health crisis
Legal Services
Homeless Persons Representation Project (HPRP)
201 N. Charles St., Suite 1104, Baltimore City
410-685-6589 / 800-773-4340
Provides free legal aid to those experiencing or at risk of homelessness
Maryland Legal Aid
500 E. Lexington St., Baltimore City
410-951-7777
Provides a full range of free civil legal services to financially eligible individuals, with a focus on legal issues concerning elder rights, employment, family, public benefits, health care and housing
Reentry Services
Assists prisoners, ex-prisoners and others in need become independent, responsible citizens through civil legal assistance and re-entry services
Baltimore- Alternative Directions
2505 N. Charles St., Baltimore City
410-889-5072
PG CO- People Ready 5814 Baltimore Ave.
Hyattsville, Maryland 20781 (301)277-2172
AA CO- AmeriCorps (800) 942-2677
Identification
Beans and Bread
402 South Bond St., Baltimore City
410-732-1892
ID cards and birth certificates available on the first business day of the month to the first 5 to 10 people who arrive
Manna House
435 East 25th St., Baltimore
410-889-3001
Provides assistance with birth certificate and ID cards applications
Employment Assistance
ONE STOP CAREER CENTERS
Downtown One Stop Career Center
1100 North Eutaw St., Room 101, Baltimore City
410-767-2148
Eastside One-Stop Career Center
3001 East Madison St., Baltimore City
410-396-9030
Provides assistance with job search strategies, employment referrals and placement and other workforce services; offers access to copiers, faxes and phones
Northwest American Job Center (Re-entry Center)
Mondawmin Mall, Suite 302
2401 Liberty Heights Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215
Telephone: 410-396-7873
DROP-IN CENTERS
Manna House
435 E. 25th St., Baltimore City
410-889-3001
Franciscan Center
101 W. 23rd St., Baltimore City
410-467-5340
H.O.P.E.
2828 Loch Raven Rd., Baltimore City
410-327-5830
Provides clothing, communication, laundry, food, recreation and showers
** For any other region specific info email socialmedia@emrcgroup.org **
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