The Ad Council has announced the launch of a seven-year, $65 million mental health communications initiative. 

With a $15 million founding contribution from Huntsman Mental Health Institute, the initiative will bring together a coalition of leading mental health NGOs, including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Psychological Association, Jed Foundation, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Mental Health America, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Peg’s Foundation, and the Steinberg Institute as well as federal agencies and private corporations. The funding will support development of a best-in-class insights and analytics engine to inform and evaluate the impact of relevant content; an extensive messenger program; employer workplace resources; grassroots community activations; and a large-scale, multi-pronged communications effort with discrete campaigns and open-source partner toolkits for populations in need. 

According to a study conducted by the Ad Council this past spring, half of American residents ages 16 to 65 say they have a mental health condition; of those, only about half say they’re getting help or treatment.

“We have all been touched by the mental health crisis—it’s one that we’ve experienced for many years, but which was greatly exacerbated by COVID-19 and a confluence of other factors including the ongoing fight for racial justice and the challenging economy,” said Ad Council president and CEO Lisa Sherman. “We’ve seen the incredible progress that can be made when the Ad Council convenes a coalition of partners around a singular issue. Together, we’re uniquely poised to reshape the conversations around mental health and help millions of Americans when they need it most.”

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