Lycoming County proclaims May 2025 Mental Health Awareness Month; NAMI calls for reduced stigma

The Lycoming County Board of Commissioners proclaimed May 2025 as Mental Health Awareness Month on May 20, 2025, and received remarks from a representative of NAMI North Central PA and from members of the commission about suicide prevention and access to care.

The proclamation, read aloud during the commissioners’ public meeting, cited national statistics the presenter attributed to the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of Mental Health and said early onset of mental health conditions is common: "50 percent of all lifetime mental health disorders commonly begin at the age of 14 in adolescence and then 75 percent by the age of 24," the reading said. The proclamation also noted that suicide is a leading cause of death among young people and described barriers to diagnosis and treatment.

At the podium, a NAMI North Central PA representative thanked the commissioners for the proclamation and urged the community to “normalize conversations about mental illness” and to reduce stigma. "With your support, we here at NAMI can continue our mission in providing advocacy, education, resources, and peer support for those who are affected by mental health," the speaker said. The representative described local programming including survivor support groups, peer support, professional support groups and a reestablished suicide-prevention committee working with stakeholders.

Commissioners and other officials urged residents to pay attention to friends and family who may be struggling and to ask simply, "How are you doing?" Several speakers said listening without judgment is valuable. One commissioner described county efforts to provide medications and mental-health services to people held in the county jail, saying the county has “tried” to address care in corrections. Another commissioner recounted a personal family loss to suicide to underscore the difficulty of understanding why some people take their lives.

During the public-comment period an online commenter affiliated with "LICO Secrets" criticized NAMI’s position on involuntary commitment and urged caution about civil commitment practices. The commenter said from personal experience that involuntary commitment can produce medical debt and trauma and urged the county to consider alternatives; the comment was not followed by action from the commissioners.

The proclamation was signed by the three commissioners as presented and a photo was taken. No separate vote was recorded in the public transcript beyond the reading and presentation of the proclamation.