The Center for Youth Advocacy and Well-Being at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center will host a Trauma Summit, Tuesday, May 9, from 9 a.m.-noon at Christ Missionary Baptist Church, 494 South Parkway East.
The summit is free and open to the public. This first post-pandemic public gathering for the center is part of its observance of Children’s Mental Health Acceptance Week, May 7-13. The week was founded by the National Federation of Families to focus on children’s mental health and to advocate for acceptance as a way to to combat discrimination, prejudice, and bias.
The morning summit features a panel discussion facilitated by Altha Stewart, MD, senior associate dean for Community Health Engagement in the UTHSC College of Medicine and director of the Center for Youth Advocacy and Well-Being. The discussion is titled, “A Trauma-Informed Mental Health Approach to Addressing Youth Violence in Our Community.” The keynote speaker is Rwenshaun Miller, LPC, a licensed professional couselor, mental health advocate, author, and entrepreneur, who uses his personal experience living with a mental health challenge to educate others and break the stigma associated with mental health issues. Lunch and networking will follow.
A roundtable discussion and dinner with Miller is also planned for 4-7 p.m., for males ages 10-21 years old. The evening event requires registration and is designed to create a safe space for dialogue about mental illness in males. Registration for both events is available here.
Throughout May, the center will host events related to children’s mental health, including discussions on Facebook and mental health resource and wellness fairs. For more information about the center and other events, visit https://uthsc.edu/cyaw/.