Inaugural Mental Wellness Walk seeks to raise awareness of the importance of mental wellness and community resources

Press release from All Souls Counseling Center: 

Presented by National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Western Carolina and All Souls Counseling Center, the 1st Annual Mental Wellness Walk will take place on Saturday, June 17th at Carrier and French Broad River Parks. Participants can walk a 2K or 5K. Event will include music, refreshments, and resource displays.

The Mental Wellness Walk seeks to raise awareness of the importance of mental wellness and community resources that exist for people with mental health issues. Mental health was ranked the “leading health issue facing the county” according to the most recent Buncombe County Community Health Assessment with half the respondents reporting that mental health care “was the most difficult to access.”

“We have teamed up with NAMI-WC to raise awareness about mental health, one of the leading health issues facing the WNC region,” says McNair Ezzard, Executive Director of All Souls Counseling Center.
“Every day All Souls Counseling Center and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Western Carolina work to improve the lives of individuals and families that are impacted by mental health issues,” says Paulette Heck, Board President of NAMI Western Carolina.

All funds raised will support the work of these two organizations that provide the community with mental health counseling, support, education, and advocacy. For more information about the walk, email info@namiwnc.org or call 828-505-7353.

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About Thomas Calder
Thomas Calder received his MFA in Fiction from the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program. His writing has appeared in Gulf Coast, the Miracle Monocle, Juked and elsewhere. His debut novel, The Wind Under the Door, is now available.

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