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May is here!  I have always considered the month of May to be a time of transition.

We experience so many lifestyle changes during this time period. There is the end of school terms, graduations, weddings, warmer weather, and of course -- the dreamy thoughts of time off with family and friends, summer fruits and vegetables and vacations! Yay! May has some special celebrations too. Let’s take a look:

May Monthly Awareness:
Mental Health Awareness Month
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May Monthly Observances:
Thursday, May 2nd – National Day of Prayer
Saturday, May 4th – 150th Running of the Kentucky Derby (and May the 4th be with you 😊)
Sunday, May 5th – Cinco de Mayo (The Mexican Army’s victory over the French in 1862 -- which is a perfect excuse for a margarita!)
Monday, May 6th – Begin Teacher Appreciation Week (Yay!)
Wednesday, May 8th – Root Canal Appreciation Day (Why?)
Friday, May 10th – Child Care Provider Appreciation Day (Woohoo!)
Sunday, May 12th – Mother’s Day (Call your mother please!)
Monday, May 27th – Memorial Day (CCG holiday! Fly your Flag! Honoring all those who died while serving in the US Armed Forces)

May being Mental Health Awareness Month this is a good opportunity for all of us to do a self-check to take stock of our own personal state of mind.  It has not been that long since the pandemic and with the current state of world conflicts, campus demonstrations, climate change disruptions, overwhelming news about AI and the looming presidential elections, it is no wonder that we are all feeling stressed. It is reported that 1 in 5 Americans, or more than 58 million people, are suffering with some type of mental illness.  And that’s just the people who are willing to admit to needing help.  I believe that number to be much, much higher.  Self care is so important these days and it should not take an ‘awareness month’ for all of us to slow down and ask ourselves -- “how am I doing?”  So, let’s do that.

OK Tori, then what?

I asked myself that same question.  Where would I go to find help? So, off I went down the mental health resources rabbit hole -- and it is deep and it is wide. I searched for resources that were free and fee based, in English and in Spanish. I started with our own very generous employee benefits provider, United Healthcare, and found some really good options. Here are two resources to check out:

• Member Benefits (fee based) – Access to counseling sessions in-person or online with participating therapists and psychologists (office visits and deductible fees will depend on the benefits plan you have selected).  Call 888-331-3408 for more information.
• Employee Assistance Program (free, flyer attached) - Provides coverage for 3 counseling sessions per person covered, per year with participating therapists and psychologists, at no additional cost to you. Need help now? Call 888-887-4114.

The United Healthcare website www.myuhc.com website has a lot of useful information and tools to help you navigate all the mental health resources available. Services are always confidential and never shared with an employer.

And here’s a great resource for anyone, regardless of whether you are on our benefits plan: www.findhelp.org This site provides information for folks all over the state on all types of assistance including Food, Housing, Goods, Transit, Health, Money, Care, Education, Work, and Legal services and more. You can filter your search by resource needed, zip code, fee-based or free and by language preference. (Fun Fact 1: Some of you may remember our “NorthTexasFamilies.org” website, which was built off of the findhelp.org platform.) Fun Fact 2: All CCG centers are included on the FindHelp site!

UHC Benefits Fun Fact: Did you know that you can earn up to $300 in UHC Rewards for getting a flu shot, tracking your daily steps or other health and wellness activities?  It’s so easy. Visit www.myuhc.com/earnrewards to learn more.

Now, for those of you who are not on a benefits plan, I have a pretty good option for you too.  After much research on the internet I found a really good resource in the website www.findhelp.org.  Of all the sites I visited, this was the most comprehensive site for all types of assistance including Food, Housing, Goods, Transit, Health, Money, Care, Education, Work, and Legal services and provides many options (I even found our Child Care Assistance program listed under Care).  You can filter your search by service needed, zip code, fee-based or free and by language preference. So if you work for ChildCareGroup in any location across the state, this website has mental health resources for you.

Again, I encourage everyone to really consider a ‘regular’ mental health check-up, not just once a year. As I have said many times, there is no shame in seeking help. It’s quite the contrary. It’s actually courageous. I think author Brene Brown said it best with her quote, “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weaknesses.” Well said Brene and so true!

May is also Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  These types of recognition months always remind me of how rich and diverse our agency is and that always makes me smile.  As of today we have 435 employees. Of that number, eight employees are men!  I think that is the most we’ve ever had in our agency!  Our agency ethnic percentage breakdown looks like this:

I think we have the highest number ever for Asian American employees too. Thank you to the People & Culture team for providing these statistics. My hope is to speak with some of our Asian American employees in the coming weeks to hear their stories and I will report back to you. In the meantime, if you are looking for some activities in the Dallas area to celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, just follow this link: https://www.visitdallas.com/blog/celebrate-aapi-month/. If you choose to visit the Crow Museum of Asian Art you will not be disappointed, it has some of the most amazing art I have ever seen.  And the list of Asian restaurants and their regional cuisines looks really delicious too! Yum!

祝大家周末愉快。
Zhù dàjiā zhōumò yúkuài.
(Have a wonderful weekend everyone)

请照顾好你自己。
Qǐng zhàogù hǎo nǐ zìjǐ.
(Please take good care of yourself)

Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay positive.
Tori Mannes
CEO & President