NEW ROCHELLE, NY (May 31, 2026) — Award-winning filmmaker Jamal Smart will host a maternal mental health event at the New Rochelle Public Library on May 31 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., featuring a screening of his 23-time award-winning film Behind The Joy, followed by a panel discussion and community resource engagement.
The event, titled “Behind The Joy: Honoring Mother’s Postpartum Mental Health,” is free and open to the public and is designed to address postpartum mental health, birth support, early identification of perinatal mood disorders and access to care, particularly within Black and Brown communities where underdiagnosis rates remain disproportionately high.
According to information about the event, postpartum depression affects approximately 1 in 5 mothers nationally. Untreated perinatal mood disorders have been linked to increased emergency room utilization, maternal health complications, behavioral health disengagement and long-term family instability.
Organizers said the event will combine storytelling, clinical expertise and community dialogue to create a healing-centered and education-driven forum for families across Westchester County.
The program will include a full screening of Behind The Joy, a moderated Postpartum Diaries live panel, a Havening Technique® demonstration led by Juliet Senior Antelmi CD:DONA /CLC, an audience question-and-answer session with guided reflection and on-site maternal mental health resource engagement.
Panel participants will include a midwife providing clinical insight into screening practices and referral pathways, a doula offering early-warning education and support navigation, and a mother with lived experience of postpartum depression.
The discussion will be moderated by Natasha Hylton, RN, WCC, ICP, Doula. Hylton is described as a maternal health advocate, registered nurse and founder of She Thrives Here who brings both clinical expertise and lived experience with postpartum depression to conversations focused on maternal mental health, postpartum recovery and community-informed care.
Behind The Joy is a 23-time award-winning film that focuses on postpartum depression within the Black community. According to event materials, the film uses storytelling to explore silence, stigma and healing and has been screened at universities, correctional facilities, healthcare institutions and community centers.
The event will take place at the New Rochelle Public Library, 1 Library Plaza, New Rochelle.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.