Mental health coordinators from metro school districts will host Resources at Railroad, a mental health and wellness fair at 4 p.m. on Oct. 3 at Railroad Park in Birmingham.

Practitioners and advocates say they want to bring resources into the community and destigmatize conversations about mental health. The resources will include mentoring, student and family counseling, medical wellness and more.

“The reality is our kids are struggling. When we don’t take our kids’ mental health seriously, and when we don’t put that at the forefront, our kids are going to struggle more,” Emily Herring, Fairfield City Schools mental health coordinator, said.

In Alabama, 29,345 adolescents across Alabama received treatment at state certified providers for mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety in 2022. And 65,155 adults were served, according to the Alabama Department of Mental Health.

Poor mental health among youth that goes unaddressed can lead them to engage in behaviors that put them at risk and have negative outcomes for their health and development, which can last into adulthood, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s going to look like a lack of motivation. It’s going to look like anxiety to do basic, everyday things. It’s going to look like struggling with peer conflict and relationships. It’s going to look like isolation. It’s going to look like violence in our community.”

Read more: Inside Alabama’s new school mental health counselor roles.

Discussing personal mental health and wellness can often feel taboo. Herring said the first step to destigmatizing mental health awareness is to acknowledge that it affects everyone.

She said the next step is to start spreading awareness about mental health resources whenever it is possible.

“If everyone’s talking about it, if everyone knows one resource, then we’re all in a better place when we share with each other,” Herring said.

Organizers say the event will be a fun, family friendly environment with food trucks, door prizes, school performances, yard games, music and more.

Herrings said she hopes the community’s needs can be met with the resources available.

“Mental health coordinators across our city, we’ve seen that there are so many resources out there that people don’t know about. Our goal is to make people more aware of the resources that are out there. We see that a lot of people don’t have access simply because they’re not aware,” Herring said.