Wilmette centers mental health with spring campaign

The Village of Wilmette recently launched Wellmette, a community-wide mental health awareness campaign, under the tagline, “Mental Health Matters… You Matter.”

The National Institute of Mental Health found that 59.3 million U.S. adults — 23.1 percent of the national adult population — were living with a mental illness in 2022.

“Wilmette is no exception” to these numbers, per the Village of Wilmette’s press release, highlighting the importance of this campaign.

“The goal is to reduce the stigma around mental health and raise awareness about the resources that are available,” said Sara Phyfer, assistant to the village manager of Wilmette.

The campaign, which will run through the end of May — Mental Health Awareness Month — has been in the works since around June of last year when it was recognized as a key 2024 initiative by Wilmette’s Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee. (The group is the same one that brought eco-friendly strategies to the forefront in 2022, creating Wilmette’s sustainability coordinator position by 2023.)

Haven Youth and Family Services, The Family Service Center, The Josselyn Center, and other local service organizations partnered with the Village during the initial planning stages.

Currently, the campaign is in its introductory phase as the village spreads the word. But as the campaign gets further underway, the Village intends to spotlight the different mental health resources and support systems available to community members.

While the campaign will not include events of its own, it will spotlight existing, upcoming community events that are open to the public and carry a mental health component.

Another element of Wellmette includes highlights of the mental health journeys of local residents and business leaders, who can share their stories directly with Phyfer at phyfers@wilmette.com.

Since its recent launch, the campaign has already garnered community support.

“I’ve gotten a couple of emails with people just saying that it made them really happy to see that the village is sharing these resources, and we did get some positive feedback on our social posts as well,” Phyfer said.

As further information becomes available, such as the spotlights on resources and events, it will be posted to the campaign’s website, Wellmette.com.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.