Summer in East Texas means cookouts, fireworks, kids out of school, and full calendars. For many people, it also means carrying something intangible that doesn't quite shut down when the music starts. It's a worry, or a habit that's getting harder to manage. Perhaps it's even a family member they no longer quite know how to reach
July is nationally recognized as Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, a time set aside to acknowledge that certain communities face added barriers when it comes to getting help with mental health and substance use. In rural East Texas, those barriers have names we recognize: pride, privacy, the belief that what happens at home stays at home, or the fear of running into someone you know at the door of a place "like that".
The observance has a story behind it. Bebe Moore Campbell was an author and advocate who spent years trying to find mental health resources for her daughter in a primarily Black and Brown neighborhood. What started as a mother's search for help grew into something much larger. After her passing, friends and fellow advocates carried on her work, and in 2008, Congress made it official, designating July in her honor. Campbell said it herself: it's not shameful to need help. Getting treatment is the courageous choice.
For many minority communities, there's a long history of handling things internally, of being strong, of not airing private matters. In a small town, where everyone knows everyone else, that instinct to keep private can run even deeper.
Substance use and mental health struggles reach every neighborhood, every income level, and every family. Most people never saw it coming, and most families never thought it would affect theirs.
What we want people to hear this July is simple. Help is meant for everyone who wants it. There's no threshold to meet, no circumstance too complicated, and no family too far gone to find their way back. The door isn't reserved for a certain kind of person or problem.
Cost and coverage shouldn't stand between someone and the help they need. ADAC's Outreach, Screening, Assessment, and Referral (OSAR) program is free and exists for people who need a place to start.
If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol or substance misuse, help is available. Reach out to the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Council of Deep East Texas at adacdet.org or call 936-634-0210. You don't need to have it figured out to begin; you have to be willing to reach.
Paige Bentley is the public relations coordinator for the Region 5 Prevention Resource Center Alcohol & Drug Awareness Council.
