PTSD Awareness Month
June is National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month, and is intended to raise public awareness about issues related to PTSD, reduce the stigma associated with PTSD, and help ensure that those suffering from the invisible wounds of war receive proper treatment. Even though PTSD treatments work, most people who have PTSD don’t get the help they need. Help us spread the word that effective PTSD treatments are available.
PTSD, or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, is an anxiety disorder that some people develop after seeing or living through an event that caused or threatened serious harm or death.
PTSD may result in sleep problems, irritability, anger, recurrent dreams about the trauma, intense reactions to reminders of the trauma, disturbances in relationships, and isolation. Some people may recover a few months after the event, but for others it may take years. For some, PTSD may begin long after the events occur.
PTSD is very common, and treatment is available. Treatment includes different types of trauma-focused psychotherapy as well as medications to manage symptoms.
Men’s Health Month
National Men’s Health Week (June 10th- 16th)
Men’s Health Month is celebrated every June to raise awareness of preventable health issues and encourage early detection and treatment of disease in men and boys. The month includes educational campaigns and national screenings. Some areas of focus for men include:
- Heart health
- Men are at a higher risk of heart disease, even without symptoms. Getting your blood pressure checked is important.
- Colorectal cancer
- Recommended screenings start at age 45.
- Mental health
- Men are less likely to talk about their feelings or seek treatment for depression, which affects both men and women.
LGBTQ Pride Month
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as ‘Gay Pride Day,’ but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the ‘day’ soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts, and LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.”
Multiracial Heritage Week (June 7th – 14th)
Multiracial Heritage Week is the national week of celebration for the Biracial and Multiracial population. The Multiracial population went from 2.9 percent in 2010 to 10.2 percent in the 2020 Census, a 276 percent increase! And we continue to grow.
World Caring Day (June 7th)
Each year on June 7, World Caring Day shines a spotlight on all the ways we connect and show each other how much we care. After all, we should always take time to celebrate the millions of acts of caring we see. All acts of caring, whether big or small, are important
Juneteenth (June 19th)
On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free. Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the south reading small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation spreading the news of freedom in Confederate States. Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation end slavery throughout the United States.
But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas.
The post-emancipation period known as Reconstruction (1865-1877) marked an era of great hope, uncertainty, and struggle for the nation as a whole. Formerly enslaved people immediately sought to reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, push radical legislation and even sue slaveholders for compensation. Given the 200+ years of enslavement, such changes were nothing short of amazing. Not even a generation out of slavery, African Americans were inspired and empowered to transform their lives and their country.
Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day. Although it has long celebrated in the African American community, this monumental event remains largely unknown to most Americans.
World Refugee Day (June 20th)
Each year on 20 June, the world celebrates World Refugee Day, the international day to honour people who have been forced to flee.
Together, we can champion their right to seek safety, build support for their economic and social inclusion, and advocate for solutions to their plight.
