The first day of May is Friday, and with Massachusetts still under a stay-at-home advisory, it will be "a slightly different kind of May 1st than the one we've had typically over the past few years," Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday.
"April obviously was a very long and very hard month...preceded by the month of March, which many people felt the same way about," Baker said.
And amid what the governor described as "challenging and difficult times" during the COVID-19 pandemic, May also marks Mental Health Month.
Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders urged people to remember to "take care of ourselves, both mentally and physically." She said the the mental health and emotional support program Call2Talk can be accessed by dialing 2-1-1, and a searchable behavioral health directory, the Massachusetts Network of Care, was launched in March, "which may seem like a long time ago to all of us."
Sudders said it's important to connect with others and "engage in some activities that have been important to you."
Baker said that after years of unsuccessfully trying to get his three kids to read, his daughter and her friends started a virtual book club to give them something to talk about while at home, and have asked him what books he would recommend. That, he said, "might be the only good thing I can think of that's come out of all of this."
Baker did not share any book recommendations during his daily press briefing but offered a strong endorsement for the documentary "The Biggest Little Farm," about a California couple that leaves their apartment to develop a sustainable farm
"It's one of the best documentaries, ever, and it's magical, it's lyrical and it's beautiful," he said.
