TIFTON — Tifton City Council proclaimed May as a month of raising awareness for two prevailing issues in the local and greater community.

Mayor Julie Smith, backed by the council, declared the month as both Mental Health Awareness Month and Jewish American Heritage Month, offering the support of the city in combatting the issues faced by both groups.

Smith said the intent of Mental Health Awareness Month is to help erase the negative stigma faced by people with mental illnesses or those supporting family members or loved ones who have mental illnesses.

Stephanie Davis and the staff of Legacy Behavioral Health Crisis Center were invited to the front of the meeting hall to receive the proclamation. Davis thanked the council and community for their willingness to help.

Smith and the council were also in support of Jewish American Heritage Month as a means of standing against the bigotry and hatred faced by Jewish Americans across the country.

Smith said the month acknowledges and celebrates the pivotal role Jewish Americans have played in American history, often being crucial in making the nation what it is today.

The mayor asserted the proclamation confirmed the city acknowledges rising anti-Semitism as a threat not only to the Jewish American population but to the nation, stressing the importance of fostering conditions that would allow the city and greater community to be safe.

She encouraged the residents of Tifton to celebrate and raise awareness for both months and the ideals they represent.