POUGHKEEPSIE – May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Dutchess County Legislator Barrington Atkins (D-Poughkeepsie) held a bike ride through the city on Saturday to raise awareness of the mental health crisis. The ride was escorted by two City of Poughkeepsie Community Policing officers who were also on bicycles.
Atkins told participants at the start of the ride in the Poughkeepsie parking lot for the Walkway Over the Hudson that it would be going throughout different neighborhoods in the city. He said the ride was routed “to help the community understand that, when it comes to mental health, it doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care if you are rich, poor, if you live on the north side, south side, you’re black, you’re white, your religion, it can show up at anyone’s doorstep.”
The freshman lawmaker noted that the COVID pandemic created substantial stress on many people and the ride was also organized to get people back outside for exercise.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness has compiled resources on its website that list the warning signs of mental illness. The information can be found here.
