How to Get Involved in San Diego’s Mental Health Movement

Anyone can have mental health challenges, regardless of age, sex, race or economic status. In fact, 1 in 5 adult San Diegans are affected by mental illness. While mental health challenges (and recovery from those issues) are common, people with a mental illness often experience judgment or unfair treatment.

That’s why the It’s Up to Us campaign was started. It’s our local effort to make San Diego a more supportive community where people can feel safe to reach out, and others know how to provide help when it’s needed. Whether you or someone you care about is living with a mental health challenge, we all have a reason to Speak Up. Now is your chance to Stand Up and become an advocate. It’s Up to Us, San Diego!

Here are some ways to get involved in our San Diego community:

• Treat people with mental illness with respect and dignity, just as you would anyone else.

• Language matters. Never refer to someone with mental illness as “crazy” or “loony.”

• Don’t allow mental illness to define a person. Say “someone experiencing schizophrenia” rather than “a schizophrenic.”

• Raise awareness about discriminatory or stigmatizing language in the media by sending a letter or email.

• Sign up for a local walk for mental health or to support suicide prevention.

  • Out of the Darkness Community Walk (usually in October)

  • Save a Life San Diego Community Walk (usually in November)

  • National Alliance on Mental Illness San Diego 5K (usually in April)

• Get involved, speak up and help inspire others to follow suit. Check out the volunteer page to join one of the many San Diego organizations in their efforts to fight discrimination.

• Encourage young people to use their creativity to develop videos about important topics, such as mental health and suicide prevention.

  • Directing Change Student Video Contest: Young people ages 14 to 25 have the opportunity to create 60-second films about mental health and suicide prevention.  Films can be viewed and downloaded at no cost.

  • The 48-Hour Film Project: Compete with other moviemakers from the San Diego area to see who can make the best short movie in only 48 hours.

  • Innovative Video Education (iVIE): Create a video that raises public awareness of an issue or inspires others, as part of this San Diego County wide student video competition.

• Lime green has emerged as the national color for mental health awareness. Show your support by wearing a lime green ribbon and sharing why you care about mental health with others. You can get a free, lime green ribbon at eachmindmatters.org

It’s Up to Us is part of California’s mental health movement, and partners with Each Mind Matters. Each Mind Matters is made up of millions of individuals and thousands of organizations working to advance mental health. Here are a few great tools from Each Mind Matters that you can use in your community:

• Use social media to start a conversation about mental health in your network. Not sure what to say or how to start a conversation online? Check out this short video about how to start a conversation online: vimeo.com

• When you hear someone misstate the facts about mental health, respectfully speak out and correct the person. Here are some great tips for starting a conversation about mental health and some facts to share: vimeo.com

• There are so many ways to get involved in California’s mental health movement! Take a pledge for mental health, spread the word or share your story at: eachmindmatters.org

• Link Up with It’s Up to Us social media

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