Mental Health Awareness Month | WEDU PBS Programming
WEDU PBS recognizes the importance and impact of Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Throughout the month, WEDU invites you to join us as we broadcast eye-opening specials, powerful documentaries, and educational programs that shine a light on mental well-being and the journeys of those who have found strength through difficult times.
Below you will find weekly inspirational programming intended to showcase diverse viewpoints, highlight stories of hope, and broaden your understanding of the mental health topics faced by those from all walks of life. We have also included helpful resources to guide you toward receiving the care you or a loved one may need.
Monday, May 1:
Independent Lens- Matter of Mind: My ALS | 10 p.m.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neuromuscular disease with an average survival time of 2-5 years from diagnosis. In this intimate exploration, three people with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, bravely face different paths as they live with this progressively debilitating illness. Preview
Unconditional: Healing Hidden Wounds | 11 p.m.
Unconditional: Healing Hidden Wounds is a revealing documentary about the home healthcare crises of mental wellness. Mental health issues and questions of emotional wellness challenge some 50 million family caregivers each year, and often they do not know it. Filmed over seven years, the cinéma vérité film follows three very different families as they discover the impacts, stresses, and rewards of caregiving for their loved ones living with disabilities. Learn More
Monday, May 8:
Independent Lens- Sam Now | 10 p.m.
In this coming-of-age documentary about generational trauma, follow Sam Harkness from age 11 to 36 as his middle-class Seattle family is heartbroken and unsure of what to do after his mother suddenly leaves them. Woven together with home movies lovingly crafted by Sam’s half-brother, director Reed Harkness, witness a boy grow up grappling with the ripple effects of a singular traumatic event. Preview
Losing Lambert: A Journey Through Survival and Hope | 11:30 p.m.
Kathy O'Hern Fowler, who lost her 16-year-old son to suicide in 1995, spent years struggling with the loss and grief. However, the life-altering experience led her to advocate for other parents who tragically find themselves in the same position. The touching and insightful Losing Lambert: A Journey Through Survival and Hope explores the heart-rending questions left in the wake of suicide, interviews parents struggling to cope with the pain and stigma, and offers hope for the future of suicide prevention. At a survivors meeting, parents speak candidly about the loss of their children — their darkest hours — in an effort to raise awareness about teen suicide and to help others find compassion and support. The documentary also focuses on the promising medical research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University. Their preliminary findings show impulse-control problems in the brains of suicidal teens, an impressive discovery researchers hope may someday lead to better identification and treatment for at-risk teenagers. Preview
Monday, May 15:
Independent Lens- Silent Beauty | 10 p.m.
In this autobiographical exploration of survivorship, New Orleans journalist and filmmaker Jasmín Mara López unabashedly shares her healing process from childhood sexual abuse. After Jasmín discloses to her family that she’d been abused by her grandfather, she liberates others to come forward in a story of confronting a culture of silence over generational trauma. Preview
CRAZY | 11:30 p.m.
Crazy follows Eric, a diagnosed schizophrenic, faced with a critical choice — whether to comply with traditional mental health treatment or follow his own path to wellness. Eric’s doctors want to medicate him for his own protection, but after eight years of anti-psychotic meds, Eric wants to refuse the drugs he believes cause more harm than good. With extraordinary access to Eric and his doctor, the one-hour documentary explores both sides of the story. CRAZY reveals an intimate portrait of the unpredictable and high-stakes trajectory of Eric’s journey — refusing meds, seeking legal approval to use an advanced directive, being locked on a psychiatric floor, and deteriorating during a family therapy session. Through all of this, a solution eventually enables Eric to graduate from college and claim the recovery and a measure of the autonomy he so desperately craves.
Monday, May 23:
A New Leash on Life the K9s For Warriors Story | 11 p.m.
The documentary features the impact of the service dog agency K9s For Warriors on the lives of three American veterans struggling with trauma. Founded by Shari Duval and her son Brett Simon, who served two tours in Iraq, K9s For Warriors matches veterans Adam, Shilo, and Louis with companion dogs. Each learns to manage issues such as flashbacks, hypervigilance, and invisible psychological damage.
Helpful Resources
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
(800) 422-4453
Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741
National Grad Crisis Line
(877) 472-3457
National Sexual Assault Hotline
(800) 656-4673
National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Dial 988 or Chat online
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Options for Deaf and Hard of Hearing)
For teletypewriter (TTY) Users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988 or Chat online
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline
(800) 662-4357
Veterans Crisis Line
Dial 988, then press 1
Text 838255 or Chat online