ECU Health hosting 11th Mental Health Expo today

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - ECU Health Medical Center will host its 11th annual Mental Health Expo today.

The event will feature dozens of representatives from service organizations who will be available to answer questions and provide information about local mental health and substance use resources.

There will also be multiple presentations covering topics on Narcan use, human trafficking, and the treatment of depression and anxiety.

Tiesha Hill, one attendee says, “I’m learning how to cope with it a little bit more because when I come out here and see everyone else who is going through the same thing I’m going through, it lets me know we’re not alone.”

This is the first time that the expo will be in person since 2019. Since the global pandemic, experts say mental health has been a challenge.

“With the Covid-19 pandemic, probably all of us... maybe every in the world experienced a different kind of stress or had changes in our lives, some anxiety and depression. Some folks ended up with an illness that they may not have had otherwise,” says ECU Health Behavioral Health System Service Line Administrator, Glenn Simpson.

Even though the pandemic is over, some experts still fear there could be a rise in mental health.

Pitt County Coalition on Substance Use Executive Director, Lillie Malpass says, “That’s always going to be something that we need to focus on and work on especially with our teens and them growing up during Covid. It’s really really hard and now they have a lot to deal with.”

The expo is free and open to the public and will take place at noon inside the East Carolina Heart Institute.

Glenn encourages people to take advantage of such events in order to help the state of mental health. “We encourage people to number one talk, get checked out and help if you need it and then also reach out to others just by being kind.”

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