April 13, 2021 —Oakland, CA— In partnership with MTV and nearly 200 leading brands, nonprofits, and cultural leaders, Peer Health Exchange announced the first-ever Mental Health Action Day to be held on Thursday, May 20, during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Over the past two decades, suicide rates have risen, particularly among young adults. And the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the already dire crisis, giving way to what many mental health professionals have called the "second pandemic."
“Life after COVID-19 will never be the same,” said Mohamed Diallo, a ninth-grader taking Peer Health Exchange's Centered curriculum in Boston. “The pressure that students have to be at a certain standard. It's not easy for anybody, including kids, and we need the mental resources to be able to work through this new way of living.”
Though more people than ever are comfortable discussing mental health, finding effective resources and knowing how to get help remains a challenge. Mental Health Action Day is an open-source movement of brands, organizations, and cultural leaders to drive culture from mental health awareness to mental health action.
“Peer Health Exchange is honored to partner with MTV to make mental health a priority,” said Louise Langheier, Co-founder and CEO of Peer Health Exchange. “Our mission is to build healthier communities with young people. Mental Health Action Day is a part of that commitment, and I hope it will be an everyday exercise— to center mental wellness as a part of our everyday lives.”
We encourage people to take their first steps towards mental health action -- whether for themselves, their loved ones, or advocating for systemic changes. Resources and tools will be available for people to seek help in many ways, from starting a meditation practice, learning how to support a friend, or advocating for change.
“From Covid-19 to economic struggles and the continuing fight for racial justice, the other half of the twin pandemic is the rise of our mental health challenges,” said Erika Soto Lamb, Vice President of Social Impact Strategy at MTV Entertainment Group. “This is a critical moment to shift our culture from mental health awareness to mental health action and MTV is proud to come together with diverse cross-sector leaders on this inaugural day to encourage and empower people to take action -- for themselves, for their loved ones or for the systemic changes needed to improve our social and emotional wellbeing.”
In pursuit of health equity, Peer Health Exchange is committed to providing the resources young people need to act on their health and their communities' health. We are excited to partner with MTV on Mental Health Action Day to address the challenges and barriers many face in the communities we serve.
Partners:
Partners To Date:
● 320 Changes Direction
● AARP
● Active Minds
● Administration for Children and Families
● AIM Youth Mental Health
● AIR - Attitudes In Reverse®
● Aliento
● Alma
● American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
● AmeriCorps
● batyr
● Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc.
● BET
● BetterUp
● Blue Shield of California’s BlueSky Initiative
● Born This Way Foundation
● Boys & Girls Clubs of America
● BRAVO SIERRA
● Bring Change to Mind
● Charity Bomb
● Chipotle Mexican Grill
● City of Kindness
● CivicGeorgia
● Clubhouse International
● CMT
● Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE)
● Color Of Change
● Comedy Central
● Comedy Gives Back
● Communities In Schools®
● Compass Coffee
● Complex Networks
● Cope Notes®
● Crisis Text Line
● CURA Strategies
● Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
● DoSomething.org
● Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation
● Drumming for Your Life Institute
● Empathy Rocks
● Empire Vets
● End Rape On Campus
● Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. (EIC)
● Eventbrite
● EVERFI
● Falkora Mental Health and Neutrotech Initiative
● FaZe Clan
● Feeding America
● Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
● Find Your Anchor
● First Responders First
● Fountain House
● FourBlock
● General Assembly
● Generation S.O.S.
● GI Go Fund
● GIPHY
● Give an Hour
● GLAAD
● Grit Digital Health
● Gympass
● #HalfTheStory
● HeadCount
● Headspace
● Health Action Alliance
● Hilinski’s Hope
● Hillel International
● Hines Foundation
● Home Base
● Hope For The Day
● Hopelab
● Inseparable
● International Mental Health Association (IMHA)
● It's On Us
● JobPath Partners
● Joyful Heart Foundation
● JV Agency
● kate spade new york
● Kenneth Cole
● LogoTV
● Long Island Alzheimer's Dementia Center
● Love is Louder
● MAD TASTY
● March for Our Lives
● MedCircle
● Mental Health America
● #MentalHealthPH
● Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI)
● Morgan Stanley
● Movember
● MTV
● Musack
● MusiCares
● Muslim Advocates
● Muslim Public Affairs Council
● National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
● NAMI Westside Los Angeles
● National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
● National Alliance for Hispanic Health
● National Safety Council
● NBCUniversal
● Never Alone Mental Health & Suicide Prevention
● NEXUS
● NM Impact Ltd.
● NoStigmas
● Notes for needs
● NowMattersNow.org
● NowThis
● Number Story
● Office Depot
● On Our Sleeves®
● One Love Foundation
● One Mind
● Operation Homefront
● Overtown Youth Center
● Painted Brain
● Panorama Global
● Paramount Pictures
● Paramount Network
● PAUSE+EXPAND
● Peer Health Exchange
● Penske Media Corporation
● Plant People
● Poder Latinx
● Pop TV
● Project Healthy Minds
● Psych Hub
● Puffco
● Punk Rock Food Drive
● Queens Gaming Collective
● Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez
● Represent Justice
● RespectAbility
● Rise Above The Disorder
● Rock to Recovery
● Saint City Culinary Foundation (iheardyou.org)
● Sana Benefits
● Sanvello Health
● Shatterproof
● SHOWTIME®
● Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance
● Smithsonian Channel
● Snap Inc.
● Songs That Saved My Life
● Sound Mind Live
● Special Olympics, Inc.
● Storyline Partners
● Stronger Than Stigma®
● Student Veterans of America
● Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
● Taskeen Health Initiative
● Teen Line
● The Ad Council
● The Chopra Foundation
● The Clinton Foundation
● The Jed Foundation
● The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
● The Kennedy Forum
● The Lewis Prize for Music
● Univision Communications Inc.
● VH1
● ViacomCBS
● ViacomCBS Veterans Network
● Vibrant Emotional Health
● VICE Media Group
● Vice Ventures
● VS PINK
● VidCon
● Watering Seeds
● Wounded Warrior Project
● YouTube
● The Mental Health Coalition
● The National Council for Behavioral Health
● The People Concern
● The Trevor Project
● The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health
● Therapists in Tech
● Therapy for Black Girls
● theSkimm
● THIRA Health
● Thrive Global
● TimelyMD
● TIME’S UP Foundation
● To Write Love on Her Arms
● Too Small To Fail
● Trans Lifeline
● TV Land
● Two Chairs
● Uber
● UNICEF
● United Nations Verified
● Unite The United
● United Suicide Survivors International
● United Way Worldwide
About Peer Health Exchange
Peer Health Exchange’s mission is to build healthier communities with young people. Together, we create education opportunities for peers to share the tools and resources young people need to make healthy decisions. To learn more visit www.peerhealthexchange.org
