 Friday, April 14, 2023
It’s OK to not be OK
 Our community has experienced a horrible and traumatic event this week. Whether it affected you directly or indirectly, it’s OK to not be OK. Mental health experts recommend one of the best things anyone can do at a time like this is to connect with others and talk about how they’re feeling. Don’t isolate yourself.
Amanda Villaveces, a licensed marriage and family counselor and director of Mental Health Lou, a community wellness hub, recently shared with us some ways you can connect with others and care for yourself at this time:
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Therapy: A trained therapist can help you process your experiences and develop coping skills.
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Support groups: Connecting with others who have experienced similar trauma can provide a sense of community and validation.
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Self-care: Taking care of yourself physically and mentally is crucial in the healing process. Be gentle with yourself and practice self-compassion.
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Education: Learning about trauma and its effects on the brain and body can help you better understand and manage your symptoms.
“Remember, healing from trauma is a journey, and it's OK to take it one step at a time,” Villaveces said. “You deserve to feel safe, supported, and validated.”
Here are additional mental health and wellness resources:
Vaccine champions have a brush with creativity
Across Kentucky, public and private school students from kindergarten through 12th grade answered the call to illustrate the importance of routine childhood vaccines by designing a poster, brochure or short video for a statewide Vaccine Media Competition.
Submissions were due earlier this year, and our judges at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness were pleased to receive multiple entries. After careful consideration, one winner was chosen to represent LMPHW in the state competition, and two additional finalists were also chosen for local recognition.
We asked our winner and finalists what inspired their artwork:
Winner: Saniya Aryal. 4th grader at Norton Elementary. Saniya said her inspiration for getting vaccines are to stay safe and to keep others safe like her Grandma. This is what it means to be a good citizen. "I feel like a superhero getting my COVID vaccine! COVID doesn't stand a chance! POW! Slam dunk!"
Finalist: Eliza Horvath. 1st grader at Bowen Elementary. From poster: Infectious diseases! Be careful not to get caught! Don’t argue with the doctor, let them administer the vaccine! Vaccines…save lives. I’ll just stay happy and healthy!
Finalist: Sascha Hubler. 5th grader at Fairdale Elementary. She said “Even though I hate to get vaccines and I’m scared of them, I still do them because I know how important they are. In the end, it’s all worth it because I don’t get serious diseases.”
The winning $250 prize was sponsored by the Kentucky Association of Health Care Plans (KAHP) and awarded to one state elementary, middle and high school student at the KHSAA basketball tournament in March. While Saniya did not win the state competition, we are very proud of her and the other finalists’ hard work and commitment to keeping themselves and the community healthy and safe.
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Board of Health details clean water amid disaster
In case you missed our recent Board of Health meeting on Facebook Live, you can click on the graphic above or view it here.
Be sure to catch up on our perspectives session -- Ensuring Safe & Clean Water in the Event of a Natural Disaster -- featuring speakers Dr. Sanjay Srivastava, Director of the UofL Superfund Research Center; Chris Bobay, Brad Hart, Louisville Water Company; Meghan Brown, MSD; Jim Bottom, Louisville Metro Emergency Management Agency; James McCloud, Kentucky Department for Environment Protection Emergency Response Branch.
Need a fulfilling summer job? Join our team
Are you mission driven? Are you interested in improving the health and wellness of all residents of our city? If the answer is yes, we invite you to be a part of a dedicated team. Please apply today.
For more information, please email LMPHWCareers@louisvilleky.gov.
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