ALPENA — Women’s Health Month is observed annually in May and officially kicks off with National Women’s Health Week, from May 12 to 18, in which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health highlights women’s health issues and encourages women of all ages to prioritize their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

The theme for this year is empowering women and cultivating health. Cathy Goike, health education specialist of the Michigan District Health Department No. 4, said this is a great time for women to prioritize their own well-being.

“Women’s Health Month is a way to prioritize and promote women’s health and remind women to take care of themselves,” Goike said. “We tend to worry about everyone else and the well-being of women directly impacts families.”

District Health Department No. 4 has many services for women’s health, including a Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Navigation Program for women ages 40 to 64 that provides free annual screening and follow-up care for low-income women with little or no health insurance, a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program that provides breastfeeding education, encouragement and support to pregnant and breastfeeding women and their infants, and several others.

The Health Department’s website, dhd4.org, has more details about those programs and links to other services, along with more information to set up appointments for health services.

Hope Shores Alliance, a nonprofit organization with goals of ending sexual and domestic violence, serves everyone regardless of gender, but with a majority of sexual and domestic violence victims being women, the group’s services are especially helpful.

According to a 2023 report from Hope Shores Alliance, the organization served 417 domestic violence survivors, 173 sexual assault survivors, and 20 stalking survivors.

Hope Shores Alliance has different offices throughout Northeast Michigan, but to reach the Alpena Emergency Shelter contact 989-356-6265.

For women suffering from substance use disorder from active addiction, Sunrise Centre, a 41-bed residential treatment facility has evidence-based curriculums and groups that include gender-specific programs for patients recovering.

As a part of empowering women, the Office on Women’s Health website, womenshealth.gov, is showcasing different aspects of women’s health that are usually ignored with daily articles for topics such as safe sexual health, maternal mental health, reproductive health, and heart health.

The Office on Women’s Health will also be holding a free webinar on May 16 in which experts and women who received help for postpartum depression will discuss frequently asked questions about maternal mental health. The webinar is open to the public and will be recorded for future viewing, but people looking to attend virtually can register at womenshealth.gov/nwhw/events.