SVA Joins First National Mental Health Action Day

Press

04/13/2021

One year into COVID-19 and amidst a most dire mental health crisis, SVA and more than 1,000 organizations team up to plan inaugural ‘Mental Health Action Day’ on May 20

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 13, 2021) — Student Veterans of America (SVA), in partnership with more than 1,000 leading brands, nonprofits and cultural leaders today 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 pandemic has accelerated the already dire crisis, giving way to what many mental health professionals have called the “second pandemic.”

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.

Partners will encourage people to take their first steps towards mental health action — whether for themselves, for their loved ones or to advocate for systemic changes. Resources and tools will be available for people to seek help in a myriad of ways from starting a meditation practice, learning how to support a friend, or advocating for change.

Partners Include:

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
org
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
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
Reddit
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
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
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
Many, many more!

“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.”

Mental Health Action Day is being planned in partnership with TaskForce, a cultural organizing agency that builds capacity for those taking on the most pressing challenges facing our communities, our nation and our world.

Additional participants and more information about how each partner will activate on May 20 will be forthcoming. More on Mental Health Action Day and initial partners can be found at www.MentalHealthActionDay.org

About Student Veterans of America
With a focused mission on empowering student veterans, Student Veterans of America® (SVA) is committed to providing an educational experience that goes beyond the classroom. Through a dedicated network of nearly 1,600 on-campus chapters in all 50 states and 4 countries representing more than 750,000 student veterans, SVA aims to inspire yesterday’s warriors by connecting student veterans with a community of like-minded chapter leaders. Every day these passionate leaders work to provide the necessary resources, network support, and advocacy to ensure student veterans can effectively connect, expand their skills, and ultimately achieve their greatest potential. For more information, visit us at www.studentveterans.org.

About Mental Health Action Day
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. The first Mental Health Action Day will take place on May 20, 2021 with a mission to encourage and empower people to take their first steps towards mental health action — whether for themselves, for their loved ones or to advocate for systemic changes, because mental health is health. Learn more at www.MentalHealthActionDay.org

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