FIRST LADY AND DROMM TALK THRIVE  

Photo caption (left to right): Council Member Daniel Dromm (left) greets New York City’s First Lady, Chirlane McCray (right), as she arrives in Diversity Plaza to kick off the NYC Department of Health and Tumblr Mental Health Quilt.

New York, NY – Jackson Height, NY – Yesterday, NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst), First Lady of New York City Chirlane McCray, NYC Department of Heath and Mental Hygiene Commissioner (DOHMH) Mary Travis Bassett, Tumblr Founder and CEO David Karp and community residents gathered on Diversity Plaza to kick off the Mental Health Quilt.

The community-sourced mental health quilt highlights the city’s Thrive NYC initiative, a roadmap that helps New Yorkers have conversations on and address their mental health needs.  Attendees colored their own mental-health inspired quilt patch featuring illustrations by local and national artists.  Coloring supplies and mental health resource information brochures were supplied by the city. 

The quilt is supported by Tumblr’s Post It Forward campaign, launched in May 2015 to promote positivity and support within online communities.

“This mental health quilt fosters open and honest conversation on mental illness,” said Council Member Daniel Dromm.  “Too often our family, friends and neighbors are silenced by stigma associated with mental illness.  By raising awareness and framing conversations on mental health positively, we encourage New Yorkers to be proactive about their mental health needs.  I thank First Lady McCray, DOHMH Commissioner Bassett and Tumblr CEO David Karp for educating the public on this vitally important health issue that affects us all.”

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