HOLYOKE – To celebrate World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, the MiraVista Behavioral Health Center hosted a flag raising to add to awareness about the importance of emotional well-being as part of health care.

The center, which opened 18 months ago, provides psychiatric and substance use treatment to adults and adolescents through a variety of inpatient and outpatient programs. MiraVista offers psychiatric care services for both adults and adolescents, as well as an array of recovery rehabilitation programs. Since their opening they have served 15,000 inpatient bed days and had over 300,000 outpatient visits.

“Seeking professional help for mental and behavioral health conditions helps individuals with these conditions live productive, meaningful lives,” said MiraVista’s Chief of Creative Strategy and Development Kimberly Lee. “This is a message MiraVista promotes every day and particularly on World Mental Health Day that this year carried the theme of making mental health care a priority in every country.”

Director of Nursing for Inpatient Behavioral Health Services and Education Erica Trudell was in attendance and told the crowd assembled the flag was being raised in support of the populations they serve and for the mental health care workers in Holyoke and around the world.

MiraVista was built on the premise of person-centered care and maintain an organization of a thoughtful, empathic, energized team committed to creating and maintaining a warm, welcoming and effective culture of care. According to the organization, their purpose is to provide compassionate, effective, inspiring care for those challenged by mental health and substance use so they are empowered to lead fulfilling lives.

In Massachusetts, approximately 260,000 adults have a serious mental illness based on recent data from MiraVista. More than 66,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 in the commonwealth have depression and more than half in 2020 did not receive any mental health care for it. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide for the 15 to 29-year-old demographic and the second cause of death in the U.S. among those 10 to 34 years old.

“MiraVista is proud of its workforce and the patient-centered care they deliver daily to support individuals, and their families, in managing mental health and substance use issues,” Lee said. “What we do makes a difference. Stigma around these issues continues to prevent many people from seeking help yet seeking professional [help] is what can be both life changing and life-saving. There is no need to suffer alone with emotional, mental and behavioral health issues.”

To learn more about available support for mental health and substance use you can visit www.miravistabhc.care or call 401-702-2600.