Mental Health Awareness Fair is brought to Menifee

Diane A. Rhodes

Special to Valley News

Riverside University Health System-Behavioral Health and the City of Menifee joined forces to present a Mental Health Awareness Fair at Central Park on May 11 to share important information with the community. Offering free food, prizes, entertainment, exhibitors and a fun zone for kids, the five-hour event gave hundreds of visitors the opportunity to learn how they can help or be helped through all the local resources available.

This was one of three fairs RUHS held in Riverside County during May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. Melinda

“Mindy” McFarland, LMFT and Staff Development Officer with Prevention and Early Intervention Program at RUHS Behavioral Health said, “We are thrilled to have partnered with the city of Menifee for this event and are grateful for their support. We were pleasantly surprised at the turnout for our first year in Menifee.”

Approximately 40 RUHS programs were in attendance, each with a booth or activities center providing valuable information and resources to the community. Other related organizations were on hand to share details about their programs or projects.

“The organizing process for the fair began in December of 2022,” McFarland said. “Our dedicated team at RUHS-Behavioral Health takes our wellness fair seriously and works hard to bring it to life each year. We put our hearts, sweat and tears into organizing the fair because we are passionate about furthering our mission of promoting open and serious discussions around mental health and reducing the stigma surrounding it.”

Throughout the day, different groups, families and individuals arrived to participate. McFarland said the target audience for the fair was anyone in the community who was interested in learning more about mental health. The goal was to promote positive mental health practices and provide