Making it Okay to Say in Denton County

Speak up. Share hope. Add your voice. This is the message of the Okay to Say™ campaign. In a world where we currently face so much uncertainty, the Wellness Alliance for Total Children’s Health (WATCH) of Denton County led by Cook Children’s knows people WANT to speak up and share hope on the topic of children’s mental health. However, some may not know how.

This is why the WATCH coalition and two of its partners, Connections Wellness Group and the Denton County Behavioral Health Leadership Team, are working together to spread messaging from the Okay to Say™ campaign.

Okay to Say is an award-winning public awareness campaign, initiated by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and supported by The Hackett Center for Mental Health. Their message is simple: it’s okay to talk openly about mental health. Hope begins with open and honest conversations about mental health between trusted family members, friends, and other loved ones. WATCH, Connections Wellness Group, and the Denton County BHLT invite you to join us in working together to spread these messages throughout Denton County and the North Texas region so every child understands that it is Okay to Say.

Speak up by asking friends and family how they are feeling. Or, share how you are feeling.

Share hope by becoming a mental health supporter of someone close to you who might be struggling. There are great supporter tips on the Okay to Say website such as: Ask & Listen, Focus on Strengths, and Don’t Try to Fix.

Add your voice by sharing your journey at www.okaytosay.org or on social media using the hashtag #okaytosay.

WATCH, Connections Wellness Group, and the Behavioral Health Leadership Team have raised awareness of the Okay to Say campaign by purchasing a billboard in Denton on I-35W (Post Oak exit), sharing messages on social media, and passing out bookmarks with Okay to Say messaging at Denton County libraries. We’ve also purchased a billboard in Denton on I-35W Northbound (Post Oak exit), resulting in approximately 483,610 folks, age 18 and older, seeing this important message every week for 6 months!

If you are interested in helping make it Okay to Say in Denton County, contact WATCH Program Coordinator at alisa.quimby@cookchildrens.org or 682-885-3912.

To learn more about Connections Wellness Group, check out their website at: www.connectionswellnessgroup.com.

To learn more about the Denton County Behavioral Health Leadership Team, visit https://www.unitedwaydenton.org/denton-county-behavioral-health-leadership-team.