My Feelings are a Work of Art 2014!

My Feelings are a Work of Art 2014!

Calendar-IconOctober 29, 2014  |  MENTAL HEALTH

Children’s artwork created from My Feelings are a Work of Art projects will be displayed from October 27-30 at the Eastgate Mall from noon to 6pm.  An art gallery reception will be held on Friday, October 24 from 11:30am-1pm.  This event is free and open to the public and children, youth and community are invited to attend.  Light refreshments will be served so rsvp’s are requested to 732-5400.   This is Clermont FAST TRAC’s fifth year participating in the National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day initiative, My Feelings Are a Work of Art, during May, which is also Mental Health Month.  The initiative raises awareness of children’s mental health needs, demonstrates how children’s mental health initiatives promote positive youth development, recovery and resilience and shows how children with mental health needs thrive in the community.

Clermont FAST TRAC, a system of care initiative of the Clermont County Mental Health & Recovery Board, provided art supplies and support to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and to nurture the social and emotional well being of children during special days of “art action” called “My Feelings are a Work of Art.”  More than 800 children and youth and 200 adults involved with various agencies and schools across Clermont County participated in the national effort to use art to express feelings.  Partner sites include:  FAST TRAC Youth Advisory Group, Juvenile Court, Clermont Board of Developmental Disabilities, Clermont Recovery Center, Milford Success Academy, CEC-South, Boys and Girls Club, Child Focus Wasserman Youth and Adolescent Center, Head Start and Bilingual Preschools and various school partners, including Amelia, Holly Hill, Willowville, Boyd E Smith, McCormick, Pattison, Meadowview and New Richmond elementary schools, special education classes and Amelia Middle School.

“National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day and Mental Health Month is really all about raising awareness that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development from birth,” said Gretchen Behimer, Clermont FAST TRAC Project Director. FAST TRAC is a System of Care initiative of the Clermont County Mental Health & Recovery Board, with the mission to provide a collaborative, sustainable system of care that is family-driven and youth-guided, providing community-based and individualized supports and services that are responsive to the cultural characteristics of Clermont County’s multi-need children, youth and their families, strengthening them with hope and supporting them to lead successful lives.

The My Feelings are a Work of Art Gallery is located next to Sears and Willis Music in The EastGate Mall.