May was Mental Health Awareness Month, but in Appalachia, mental health isn’t a monthly conversation. Mental health challenges are a present reality shaped by the conditions of everyday life.
At Christian Appalachian Project (CAP), we see mental health needs firsthand in the families and communities we serve. Depression, anxiety, and trauma are often compounded by the stress of making ends meet, putting food on the table, holding down a job in an unstable economy, and trying to create stability for children with limited resources. When these pressures stack up and mental health care is out of reach, difficult circumstances can quickly become crisis situations.