PSA: The city is offering free depression screenings this week

National Depression Screening Day is this Thursday, Oct. 5.

For the sixth year, the city’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services is posting up at multiple locations to administer free mental health screenings, make treatment referrals and offer other wellness resources:

• La Colombe, 6th and Market streets, from 9 a.m. to noon
• Jefferson Station, 12th Street entrance, from 1 to 4 p.m.
• People Acting to Help (PATH), 8220 Castor Ave., 2 to 5 p.m.
• Rite Aid Pharmacy, 260 W. Lehigh Ave., 1 to 3 p.m.
• TheVillage, 6517 Chester Ave., noon to 3 p.m.
• Northeast Community Center, 4670 Roosevelt Blvd., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Free Library, 201 S. 40th St., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Starbucks, 2221 S. Broad St., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Hawthorne Park, 1200 Catherine Ave., 10 a.m. to noon
• Silver Springs Martin Luther School, 7208 Germantown Ave., 3 to 7 p.m.
• Church of the Advocate, 1801 Diamond St., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Aria-Jefferson Health, 4900 Frankford Ave., 2 to 4 p.m.
• Temple University Episcopal Campus, 100 E. Lehigh Ave., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• SPIN Inc., 10980 Norcom Road, 3 to 6 p.m.

DBHIDS also has a free screening tool online for those who can’t make it in person. As many as 85,000 adult Philadelphians have depression, according to a release from DBHIDS, as well as 16 million Americans.

“People need to know if the feelings they are experiencing are symptomatic of depression or any other mood disorder so that they can begin accessing any necessary treatment and put themselves in the best possible position to recover,” said new DBHIDS Commissioner David T. Jones in the release. “We want to enable Philadelphians to make this determination early and easily so instead of waiting for the community to come to us asking for depression screenings, which may or may not happen, we’re bringing depression screenings directly to the community.”