News & Events
Much of our work involves measuring the difference others make. Getting involved and making our own difference is also an important part of who we are as individuals and as an organization.
The theme of this year’s Mental Illness Awareness Week is, “What People with Mental Illness Want You to Know.” Throughout the week, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will be raising the voices of those with lived experience to talk about some of the conditions and symptoms that are most misunderstood.
Learn more about NAMI and the local San Diego affiliation at https://namisandiego.org/. For more information on how to support Mental Illness Awareness Week, visit https://www.nami.org/get-involved/awareness-events/mental-illness-awareness-week.


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San Diego has had some cool things going on lately.
- In North Park, a classically trained opera singer has been performing from her porch for the last 25 weeks. Read more here.
- There is a new marketplace called Melanin Made in the College area that celebrates Black artists, designers, and creators. Learn more here.
Though this last one didn’t happen in San Diego, here is a story about a five-year-old who speaks for the first time and is bursting with happiness. Watch here.
We hope you all had a great week!


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Did you know voting for the Presidential General Election looks a little different this year? We are a little under a month away from the Election, but we wanted to share information about the changes made to the voting process in response to COVID-19 to allow voters to exercise their right to vote in a safe, secure, and accessible manner. This year, all active registered voters in California will receive a ballot in the mail. The ballots would have been mailed by yesterday, October 5th. You can mail back your ballot or return it to an official mail ballot drop-off location.
The other option, if you need to vote in person, is to go to your polling place. Polling places will be open for four days from October 31st to November 3rd. There are fewer polling places than in previous elections, so the location of your assigned poll might have changed.
Visit https://www.sdvote.com/ to learn more about checking your voter registration (including your address), what is on your ballot, learn facts about voting by mail, where polling places are, or if you are a first-time voter you can register to vote in under 2 minutes!


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Question Is prenatal exposure to cannabis associated with child outcomes?
Findings This cross-sectional analysis of 11 489 children (655 exposed to cannabis prenatally) found that prenatal cannabis exposure after maternal knowledge of pregnancy was associated with greater psychopathology during middle childhood, even after accounting for potentially confounding variables.
Meaning Prenatal cannabis exposure may increase risk for psychopathology; consistent with recent recommendations by the Surgeon General of the United States, these data suggest that cannabis use during pregnancy should be discouraged by clinicians and dispensaries.

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The San Diego Domestic Violence Council works to bring our community together to end domestic violence and promote healthy relationships in San Diego County. Tomorrow is the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the Council is hosting a live stream from 12pm to 1:30pm. This free event, called Together We Heal, will be streamed on Facebook. You can join the event at www.tinyurl.com/TogetherWeHealDV.
Learn more about the San Diego Domestic Violence Council at https://www.sddvc.org/. They have also made a document of available resources in San Diego County for domestic violence victims during COVID-19, available at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12xvvVIHLshCEsqQEcGiSH5J423oNlBCR/view


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