Marion mayor proclaims May Mental Health Awareness Month; Centerstone lauded

Mayor Michael Abshire proclaimed May as Mental Health Awareness Month in Marion, praising local providers and urging residents to reduce stigma and seek treatment.

Tyrie, who identified themself as regional CEO of Centerstone, opened the event and framed mental-health and addiction issues as urgent problems that deserve acknowledgment and action. "There are a hundred ways to put out a fire; denying its existence is not one of them," Tyrie said, urging the community to treat behavioral-health needs with the same urgency as other health crises.

The proclamation read by Abshire emphasized the month’s goals: raising awareness of mental-health conditions, advocating for supportive policies and resources, and reducing stigma that can block effective treatment. Abshire thanked Centerstone and other agencies that provide behavioral-health and crisis-support services in Marion and Williamson County and encouraged residents to take "big or small" actions to strengthen local support.

Centerstone was described in remarks at the event and in the proclamation as a nonprofit health system providing mental-health and substance-use disorder treatment across age groups. Speakers at the event highlighted the value of open conversation about behavioral-health challenges and the importance of sustaining services year-round, not only during awareness campaigns.

The event included brief remarks acknowledging Board President Bob Phillips and his wife Christe, and the mayor’s reading of the proclamation concluded with an appeal to the broader Illinois community to come together to support mental-health resources. No formal votes or policy actions were taken at the gathering; the mayor’s proclamation serves as an official recognition intended to encourage community and institutional efforts.