SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL — Over the weekend, local men gathered for “Maintaining MoMENtum,” an event focused on breaking stigma, building community, and providing practical mental health support. Attendees shared their experiences, learned coping strategies, and emphasized why doing the work matters for themselves and the people around them.
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Tallahassee men’s mental health event brought men together to talk mental health and build community
“My emotions are valid, my feelings are valid, and the things that I may go through mentally are valid, as long as I get through them in order to progress and be a better person the next day,” David Thomas said.
Opening up about mental health isn’t always easy, especially for men; however, this weekend in Tallahassee, that conversation took center stage.
“Maintaining MoMENtum,” the Mental Health Council of the Big Bend’s third annual men’s mental health event, brought men together to focus on mental health support and community.
Aaron Tillman, president of Inspire Hope Collective, a counseling and consulting service for young adults and Black men, says the event is all about creating momentum.
“So maintaining momentum is really a premier event for all men, just seeking to be able to provide mental health support and understand what mental health support is and what it looks like. As men, we often wrestle with vulnerability, being able to open up and being able to just find language for our emotions,” Tillman said.
Tillman says the goal is not just awareness, but action.
“To summarize, one thing I’m always sharing is we often try to fix our emotions, and it’s really not necessarily about fixing them, but feeling them,” Tillman said. “So how can we feel what we need to feel and fix it?”
For attendees like David Thomas, who also attended last year’s event, that message resonates. Thomas says doing the work matters not just personally, but collectively.
“I think it’s important men recognize that doing this type of work for your mental health isn’t just affecting you. It’s affecting the people that you’re around. So I try to make sure I emphasize that to other people, tell them to, you know, do the work, not just for you, but for other people,” Thomas said.
National data from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America shows more than 6 million men in the U.S. experience depression each year, yet many go undiagnosed or untreated.
That’s why Tillman says events like “Maintaining MoMENtum” in Tallahassee matter.
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