Washington County proclaims Mental Health Awareness Month and Teen Mental Health Day; resident shares recovery

The Washington County Board of Commissioners on May 2025 adopted proclamations designating May 2025 as Mental Health Awareness Month and May 15, 2025, as Teen Mental Health Awareness Day, and heard a public account of recovery from a county mental-health peer specialist.

The resolutions were read into the record by Commissioner Electra Janice and adopted by roll call. The county’s proclamation for Mental Health Awareness Month said county departments and community partners should “join in promoting mental health and wellness” and highlighted local behavioral health services. A related proclamation named a day to elevate teen mental health and expand outreach and suicide-prevention work across schools and youth programs.

The proclamations were followed by a personal account from Jennifer Slaughter, who identified herself as “a residential specialist at CRR,” a local mental-health group home. “Recovery really does happen, and I am living proof of that,” Slaughter said, describing a history of hospital-level care, participation in peer programs and training, and later work as a certified peer specialist and lead staff member. She said supports that helped her included mentoring, psychotherapy and medication management, and programs run by AMI and CRR.

Slaughter described steps in her recovery: “While at the CRR, I received peer services from AMI … I was in the care mentoring program and then transitioned into the certified peer specialist program.” She said those supports enabled steady employment, independent housing and work giving back to others served by the system.

Commissioner Electra Janice noted county-sponsored and community events in support of awareness. A county staff member announced a mental-health awareness “color run” to be held at the Washington Markstone Pavilion and said flyers and registration information were available on the back table. The staff announcement said registration remained open despite a posted deadline.

The teen mental-health proclamation described recent school-survey data and a five-part Road to Better Mental Health Education launched by UPMC Washington Teen Outreach. Youth participants from the Common Ground Teen Center spoke briefly about the center’s role. “The teen center has been a great place … it gives us a place outside of school … to really connect with our peers,” said Logan Holden, identified as a graduate board member and staff at the teen center.

No formal policy changes or budget votes tied directly to the proclamations were taken; the board adopted the proclamations by unanimous roll call. The meeting materials and staff signaled follow-up on program coordination between county behavioral-health staff and school-based providers to expand suicide-prevention education noted in the proclamation.