Impact of Mental Health

Even before the pandemic, millions of Americans were experiencing mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, addiction and heightened levels of stress. And since then, these conditions have only exacerbated, creating an unprecedented mental health crisis across the country. The rate of depression has more than tripled compared to reports in 2019 and communities of color, frontline workers, health care workers, and young people have been disproportionately impacted.

Our youth have experienced disruptions in routines, increased social isolation, and loss. Research has shown that social media plays a central role in amplifying mental health challenges among young people — especially young women. Emergency department visits for attempted suicide among girls in 2021 increased by more than 50 percent compared to 2020 and BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ youth also face a disproportionate risk of suicide.

Despite these trends, less than half of Americans struggling with mental illness receive the treatment they need. Too many communities lack mental health providers and even where there are enough mental health providers, our health care systems are difficult to navigate.

In addition to mental health care shortage and limited access, many people still feel a sense of shame or individual blame when it comes to mental health conditions or severe illness.

Here is committed to transforming how we talk about, understand, and address the mental health crisis through both individual and collective change.