This past week was Mental Illness Awareness Week, and World Mental Health Day was Wednesday. It’s a helpful reminder, but the truth is West Virginians don’t wait for a calendar to do the right thing. We check on our neighbors. We bring a casserole and we bring a phone number. We don’t look away when someone’s struggling. We lean in. That’s who we are and how we live.

Over the past year, the work of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in West Virginia has expanded with that same spirit. We’ve grown education and peer support so families have somewhere to turn. We’ve built new partnerships with universities and college campuses, providers and community leaders so people can move from “I need help” to “I’m getting help” We’ve aligned with local groups that know their counties and communities best, because care lands stronger when it’s delivered by people you already trust.

Young adults asked for a real voice at the table, so we created one. NAMI’s Young Adult Advisory Board in West Virginia supports people between the ages of 18-25 who want to shape solutions that actually work in their dorms, apartments and first jobs. They help us design outreach that cuts stigma, shortens the path to care and teaches peers how to show up for each other. They’re part of a broader movement inside NAMI to make sure nothing about young people is decided without them.

This week wasn’t about slogans. It’s about what we do next. If you lead a campus, clinic, church or company, create three concrete steps that will make access faster and more respectful for the people you serve. Put the steps in writing. Share them with your teams. Measure whether they work. If you want help, call us. We’ll bring training, peer programs and a partnership of support that will break down the stigma..

If you’re reading this as a neighbor or a friend, your part matters. Save these two resources and pass them on. For everyday guidance, the NAMI HelpLine is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday at 800-950-NAMI (6264). You can also text NAMI to 62640 during those hours. In an immediate mental health or suicide crisis, call or text 988 any time. These lines answer. They connect you to people who know what to do next.

West Virginia has never outsourced its toughest problems. We solve them together. If you’re a policymaker or a philanthropist, invest in the community programs that keep people supported and stable at home, in class and on the job. If you’re a parent, coach or supervisor, make space for honest conversations and model what it looks like to ask for help. If you’re struggling, you don’t have to earn care. You deserve it because you’re here.

Mental Illness Awareness Week gives us a deadline. By Oct, 11, let’s make sure more West Virginians know where to go, who to call and how to support each other with help. That’s the kind of state we are. We take care of each other, and we don’t leave people behind.

(Gomez is the executive director the National Alliance on Mental Illness in West Virginia. NAMI is the largest grassroots mental health organization in the United States.)