Each year, millions of people navigate the lived experience of mental illness.  UMBC's Office of Accessibility and Disability Services joins the movement  with its many departmental partnerships, to promote mental health awareness, fight stigma, and provide support. One in five people will have a mental health diagnosis in their lifetime.  We are in this together.

More information about Mental Health Awareness Month from NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) is linked here.

While Accessibility & Disability Services works with faculty, staff, and student employee work accommodations and campus accessibility, and Student Disability Services manage academic accommodation requests, the following links for campus and community-based information and resources offer more depth:

Students (undergraduate and graduate) groups and resources include:

UMBC Counseling Center (Link) which includes
Faculty and staff mental health supports available through Human Resources include

For others who might want to help - the person with a disability takes the lead with asking for accommodation as a matter of respect and dignity. They are students and employees here because they have the qualifications for the role.  Accommodations are handled confidentially, so it is entirely possible that a classmate, workmate or a bystander might be the nth person to offer unsolicited advice for something that is well-covered.  How new is the person to their health condition? How new are they to UMBC? Is this related to your role with the person with a disability?  How new is a potential ally to working with someone with a disability?  This linked video helps those who are very new to engaging with people with disabilities. Do what you would do with anyone on campus: be present, listen, and reflect before acting, and ask the person involved. If it's a technical question, the disability professionals on campus are only a phone call away: 410-455-2459 or 410-455-5745.