Walk in Washington D.C. to Advocate for Mental Health Resources During OCD Awareness Week
Washington D.C., Maryland (PRWEB) September 13, 2017 -- October 8 – 14th, is OCD Awareness Week, an annual event that was started by the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) to change popular misconceptions about obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In the past years, OCD Awareness Week has continued to grow thanks to community programs and events
around the globe. This year, for the first-time, the IOCDF will invite members of the community to come together in one place to advocate and raise awareness at a brand-new event — the OCD Capital Walk in Washington D.C.
Though a common term on the Internet and in popular culture, OCD is not well understood outside the mental health community. OCD affects about 2 to 3 million adults and 500,000 kids and teens in the U.S. alone. It can take an average of 14-17 years to receive treatment due to lack of information and understanding about the disorder and how to properly treat it.
OCD Awareness Week was founded in 2009 by the IOCDF in an effort to help more people understand the disorder and find effective treatment. Now in its 6th year, OCD Awareness Week has been celebrated by a number of organizations across the US and around the world, with events such as educational lecture series, Ask the Expert panels, OCD inspired art exhibits, grassroots fundraisers, and now, the OCD Capital Walk.
On Saturday, October 14th, as the 2017 OCD Awareness Week comes to a close, the IOCDF will partner with their affiliate, OCD Mid-Atlantic, to co-host the inaugural OCD Capital Walk. Taking place at the National Mall in Washington D.C., this awareness-building and advocacy-promoting walk will be open to all members of the OCD and related disorders community, and will serve as a new opportunity to unite and grow our voice during this critical week.
The goal of the Walk will be to:
1) Increase the public's awareness about OCD and its impact on all those affected,
2) Provide information on available resources for OCD and related disorders, and
3) Help individuals learn to advocate — not only for the OCD community in their local and larger governments, but also for themselves, as they seek out treatment and additional support in their communities.
“We feel that the walk will add tremendous momentum to OCD Awareness Week by inviting the OCD community to come together in one place with the goal of raising awareness and advocating for resources, not only for OCD and related disorders, but for mental health as a whole”, said Jeff Szymanski, PhD, executive director of the International OCD Foundation.
All members of the OCD community are invited to join this monumental event! To learn more, donate, and register to attend the inaugural OCD Capital Walk, visit http://www.iocdf.org/ocdcapitalwalk today! For more information about this year’s OCD Awareness Week, including a full schedule of more events taking place online throughout the week, please visit iocdf.org/ocdweek.
Meghan Buco, IOCDF, http://www.iocdf.org, +1 (617) 973-5801, [email protected]
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