Throughout the last three years, Acton-Boxborough United Way (ABUW) has been hard at work researching, collecting information, and producing pilot programs to address the topic of community mental health resilience. As one of our five THRIVE24 goals, mental health is a cornerstone of ABUW’s organizational Priorities. And with the assistance from a grant from Emerson Health, we gained the financial capacity necessary to launch a community mental health resilience assessment, collect local stories of mental health resilience, deploy a 21-day resilience challenge, and we are in the process of writing up the findings of this three year project so that it can be adapted by other United Ways and community-facing organizations. Through the collection of data, stories, and feedback from the A-B community, ABUW has gained an increased awareness of what supports the community relies on and what additional resources could be beneficial to promote mental health resilience.
Did you miss any content from the ABUW 21-Day Resilience Challenge? If so, access all 21-Day's worth of content HERE.
Read through all 7 stories from the Local Stories of Resilience Project HERE.
Read the Acton-Boxborough United Way Community Mental Health Resilience Assessment Report HERE.
Take a look at the questions & scales that comprise the Community Mental Health Resilience Assessment HERE.
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Visit our Community Resource Site for local Mental Health resources, and more!
Mental Health is part of Thrive, our 3-Year Strategic Roadmap. Learn more!
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Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper Training teaches three simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life.
Join us for a free training and help save lives:
- Recognize the warning signs of suicide
- Know how to offer hope
- Know how to get help and save a life
Much like First Aid or CPR training, QPR© (Question-Persuade-Refer) training is free and open to all community members!
More than 400 residents and community members have participated in the training since AB Cares started offering them in 2017. Some of our recent attendees have shared that QPR© training is “Incredibly helpful!”, that “It changed how I speak about suicide,” and that “The training helped me to talk with my daughter when I was worried about her!”
Save the date! Next virtual training Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 7PM. Check back here for registration starting in September.
Next offered: March 2023
Start conversations about mental health before students leave home. Join us for a webinar featuring a panel of college administrators and a recent college graduate who experienced mental health challenges while at school. Submit your questions in advance and engage in Q&A at the webinar.
It is prudent to understand privacy laws, what can be communicated by college administrations, and that colleges differ in supports. Students, parents/guardians welcome.
Presented by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Central Middlesex. Co-sponsored by Acton-Boxborough United Way.
Free to attend. Webinar format allows for anonymity. Pre-registration required. Check back here for registration in early 2023.
In the spring of 2020, as we were all coping with the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, A-B United Way produced a series of short films to capture the best of our community.
Check out the full videos here.
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On Monday, November 15th, child and adolescent psychologist Dr John Campo of Johns Hopkins Medicine presented "Turning from Struggle to Strength: A Strategy to Prevent Suicide?"
Thank you to our Q&A facilitators Andrew Shen of ABRSD and Vivian Kobusingye Birchall of Acton TV, and to our fabulous Mental Health and tech teams who worked behind the scenes to bring this event to our community.
See video below.
On Monday, November 15th, child and adolescent psychologist Dr John Campo of Johns Hopkins Medicine presented "Turning from Struggle to Strength: A Strategy to Prevent Suicide?"
Thank you to our Q&A facilitators Andrew Shen of ABRSD and Vivian Kobusingye Birchall of Acton TV, and to our fabulous Mental Health and tech teams who worked behind the scenes to bring this event to our community.