Media placements: Active Minds
ABC News Student-peer organization helps erase stigma tied to mental-health issues: Study
Teen Vogue Mental Health Resources on College Campuses Are Essential, Survey Shows
Billboard Justin Bieber Gifts a Fan $100,000 for Her Mental Health Advocacy
Huffpost As A Mental Health Crisis Sweeps Across Colleges, Students Step Up To Fix It
HelloGiggles This student-run organization is changing college students' opinions about mental health, which could be saving lives
Scripting & Production
A Personalized Money Makeover
Scripted and produced a conversation between women on what it looks like to kickstart your investing journey, with tips from a pro.
When It’s More Than a Bad Day
Validate, Appreciate, Refer is Active Minds’ everyday guide for everyday challenges.
Blog features
If You Build It, They Will Come
"The only way to address the crisis in financial education is to design an experience that helps investors make more informed decisions.”
A Personalized Money Makeover For Smarter Money Moves
"Wealth is not necessarily a precursor to financial wellness — being informed, confident, and smart about the choices you make with your money is key.”
Patrick Menucci Shakes Up Politics in Marseille
"Ultimately, Mennucci’s rise from underdog to frontrunner can only be explained by La Netscouade’s adept use of traditional field tactics in collaboration with NationBuilder’s organizing features."
How Alumni Group Yale Women Organises From The Ground Up
"Many alumni groups focus their attention on people who have the most money—but real change works from the bottom up. In fact, throughout history, the most impressive organizing movements were successful because they operated around the belief that everyone has leadership potential."
Talib Kweli Makes The Case For Why Every Creator Should Take Control Of Their Own Financial Destiny
"Once you’ve garnered a following, the challenge is finding a way to connect with people on a personal level. Oftentimes artist with thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook fans who fail to build meaningful relationships are left wondering why so many people “liked” their status, but didn’t buy the album."
Using NationBuilder To Engage The People Who Care About What You're Doing
"Futrell maintains an open dialogue with Somerville parents and residents. When the board prepared to vote for or against school closures on election day, Futrell polled district parents using a survey. Eighty-three percent of respondents voted in favor of keeping schools open, but Futrell voted against the majority—and what he did next is nothing short of remarkable."
Op-ed
Ghostwritten for Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy & Alison Malmon, Executive Director and Founder of Active Minds.
Students Need Ready Allies for Mental Health
It’s been a month since we lost Saoirse Kennedy Hill. A month since we lost her passion, her brave voice, and her introspective spirit. Among her many qualities, Saoirse was a fierce advocate for herself and for others experiencing mental illness. As so many head back to school this fall, it’s critical we spread her message.
With wisdom and sincerity beyond her years, Saoirse was transparent about her struggles. In fact, she shared her experience with depression in her school newspaper—revealing to peers and faculty that she was recently hospitalized after a suicide attempt. Coming forward with a story like Saoirse’s isn’t easy, but she understood that vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness. She was committed to helping others who were suffering in silence, and she wasn’t afraid to start the conversation.
“I have experienced a lot of stigma surrounding mental health,” wrote Saoirse. “As students, we have the power to end that immediately.”
The importance of prioritizing mental health is becoming increasingly evident. Recent studies show that 50 percent of us will experience a mental health challenge in our lifetime, and one in five adults has a diagnosable mental illness. Earlier this year, the American Psychological Association published an analysis of survey data for more than 600,000 adolescents and adults and found that in the past 10 to 12 years, the number of people reporting symptoms indicative of major depression increased 52 percent among 12- to 17-year-olds and 63 percent among 18- to 25-year-olds.
There is much to be done to make mental health as essential as physical health: we have to make care more accessible to those who need it; hold insurers accountable for covering illnesses of the brain, such as depression and addiction, on par with illnesses of the body, such as cancer and diabetes; and ensure that mental health is valued, discussed, and truly supported in our communities, schools, and workplaces. At the same time, as individuals, we must make more of an effort to be there for one another and check in regularly.
Listen to Saoirse’s words:
“No one seems to know how to talk about mental illness. If someone confides in you, try not to say, ‘It’s all in your mind,’ or ‘Lighten up,’ or, my personal favorite, ‘Happiness is a choice.’ No, it’s really not. When I’m in a really bad place, I do my best to surround myself with positive people and upbeat music, but too often it feels as if I’m drowning in my own thoughts, while everyone else seems to be breathing comfortably.”
Do you know what to say when someone tells you they are really stressed, having a particularly difficult day, are in pain, or are generally concerned about their mental health? Saoirse’s call to action was this: We can—and should—be equipped to respond when a friend or loved one is experiencing a mental health challenge.
It’s time for all of us to answer that call. Like Saoirse, we must fight stigma head on, fearlessly, while equipping ourselves to have potentially life-saving conversations with our friends and loved ones. Active Minds offers an easy tip for doing so, and it’s as simple as remembering three letters: V-A-R.
The acronym encompasses three easy actions: Validate, Appreciate, and Refer. A conversation using these elements is one that openly and actively listens to a friend, and ensures that they feel heard and supported. This simple, direct strategy could make all the difference for someone who is suffering, and possibly prevent a mental health crisis down the road.
As the school year starts, no matter who you are—student, friend, parent, teacher, advisor—ask someone you care about how they are doing…and listen. You don’t have to be an expert to help, you just have to be there.
Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, founder of The Kennedy Forum and DontDenyMe.org, was lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 and served on the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. He is co-chair of Mental Health for Us and co-author, with Stephen Fried, of A "Common Struggle: A Personal Journey through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction."
Alison Malmon is the Executive Director and Founder of Active Minds, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults. Alison started the organization after losing her brother to suicide during her freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania.