Hundreds gather to raise mental health awareness in Central Florida
By Tony Atkins
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ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Florida (WESH) — Nearly one thousand people gathered in Altamonte Springs for NAMIWalks, one of the country’s largest mental health fundraisers, with WESH 2’s Christina Watkins as this year’s host.
People at the walk say they’re seeing progress in the cause.
“It’s great,” said Elizabeth Franko, one of the event’s attendees. “I wasn’t finding help when I needed it before, but I’m finding it much more now.”
“Years ago, this wasn’t a thing and they almost shunned the mental health issue. Now, it’s really out in the open. People are accepting of it versus in the past, it was something you really didn’t want to talk about,” said Chris Dupes, another attendee.
Last year, NAMI Greater Orlando says it raised enough money to help 16,000 people get mental health care free of charge. This year, they’re closing in on a $200,000 goal.
As of Monday, they raised more than $197,000.
Ahead of this year’s walk, a number of Central Florida leaders spoke up on behalf of mental health. People like Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings came out.
The show of support was appreciated by NAMI Greater Orlando.
“What it really shows is the stigma, while we have a long way to go, ‘stomping it out’ as we say, we’ve made huge strides,” said Freddy Morello, NAMI Greater Orlando’s executive director.
More importantly, the support means so much to people like Chris, who never thought about mental health matters until having a daughter with bipolar disorder.
“I see it first hand. Every day when we’re working, this is doing some good results,” said Dupes
From Seminole County and beyond, mental health matters.
NAMI Greater Orlando provides free services in Central Florida including Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.
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