Mental Health Month Outreach Ideas for Individuals
Get ideas for how to raise awareness this Mental Health Month.
Share information locally
- Ask wellness-oriented businesses like your local gym, yoga studio, or health food store to put up one of the posters from the toolkit.
- Reach out to your personal and professional contacts to encourage them to download the toolkit and share its resources with their customers and employees through newsletters and social media.
- Think about other groups in your community that could benefit from downloading the “May is Mental Health Month Toolkit” – doctors’ offices, schools, churches, synagogues, and other religious gathering places are a good start. You can be a tremendous help in getting this information to people who need it!
- Include mhanational.org/may in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platform posts so people can access the webpages that have been created for Mental Health Month and other mental health information.
Help spread the word about screening
- Put MHA’s screening link in the bio of your Instagram profile. For example, say, “Check up on your mental health at the link below,” and link to mhascreening.org in the website blank.
- Take a screen at mhascreening.org and share that you “took a checkup from the neck up.” Encourage others to do the same!
Planning a mental health event
Create a personal fundraiser
During Mental Health Month, you can show your support for Mental Health America by creating a personal fundraiser in just a few simple steps. It’s a great way to share your story, create awareness, and raise money for Mental Health America’s important work. Visit mhanational.org/may for tips on getting started and create a fundraiser today to make a difference!
- Share why mental health matters to you or share your screening story.
- Incorporate mental health fast facts into your fundraiser. Get them at mhanational.org/mentalhealthfacts.
- If gaming is your thing, try starting a fundraiser on Twitch.
Call or email your elected officials
Let them know why you think mental health should be a priority.
- Ask your governor or mayor to declare May as Mental Health Month. Use the sample proclamation in the toolkit.
- Get in touch with your senators. Find yours using the drop-down menu in the top left at senate.gov.
- Contact your representative. Find yours using the ZIP code search feature in the top right at house.gov.
- Check out MHA’s most recent “State of Mental Health in America” report, find out where your state ranks, and share it with your elected officials.
- Share detailed data about suicidal thinking, depression, psychosis, and trauma across your state and county from our website.
Get your employer involved
- Not sure where to start? Visit our Workplace Wellness Resource Center for ideas and resources to share with your company.
- Ask company leadership to recognize and celebrate Mental Health Month in May.
- Share with leadership why mental health is important in the workplace with this infographic.
- Contact your local MHA affiliate to host a speaker or training in your workplace.
Share your story
- Post on social media about your own mental health journey.
- Write something for listservs you are a part of, alumni newsletters, blogs, student newspapers – your story really does matter! And people want to hear it!
- Contact your local TV station or student TV station and share your mental health story.
Reach out individually
- Think about who you interact with on a regular basis that would find this information useful for themselves or others.
- Think about friends or family who you have been wanting to talk to about mental health — Mental Health Month is the perfect time to start the conversation.
Show your support
- Shop MHA’s online store to stock up on your mental health awareness swag.
- Donate to MHA or one of its affiliates during May.