This Mental Health Month NAMI Answers the Question “WhyCare?” About Mental Health

Posted on April 30, 2019

[Arlington, VA]— During the month of May NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, will launch the WhyCare? awareness campaign for Mental Health Month. The campaign emphasizes how the “power of caring” can make a life-changing impact on the more than 40 million people in the U.S. who face the day-to-day reality of having a mental health condition. The campaign is focused on increasing education, resources, and access to care.

Central to the campaign is encouraging others to learn the facts about mental illness. NAMI’s goal is to bring mental health education to all corners of our communities. With education, people can identify warning signs of mental health conditions and help someone who may be struggling.

Navigating life with mental illness can be difficult, and NAMI wants to make it easier to find resources and people who care. The WhyCare? campaign features a webpage, sharable graphics and a downloadable emoji pack for smartphones— resources that can be used as a way to reach out to someone or to show your community that you care about those with mental illness.

By caring and working together, we can create positive change. We can shift the social and systemic barriers that prevent people from getting appropriate care and treatment. We can work towards a nation where everyone affected by mental illness can find the support and care they need to live healthy, fulfilling lives.

“NAMI believes that providing education and support—and advocating for better care and treatment—is critical to getting people on a path of recovery,” said Angela Kimball, Acting CEO of NAMI. “This year, during Mental Health Month in May, we’re asking you to tell us why you care using the hashtags #WhyCare and #NAMIcares to join the conversation with examples of what you are doing personally or in your community.”

Key mental health statistics include:

• 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. lives with a mental health condition.
• 1 in 25 (11.2 million) adults in the U.S. lives with a serious mental illness.
• 46.6 million adults in the U.S. face the day-to-day reality of living with a mental illness.
• Half of all lifetime mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24, but early intervention programs can help.

For additional information about Mental Health Month and to access WhyCare? resources, please visit nami.org/WhyCare. 

The National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Join the conversation at nami.org | facebook.com/nami | instagram.com/namicommunicate | twitter.com/namicommunicate #WhyCare and #NAMIcares