The free, mobile-friendly hub addresses creator-specific mental health challenges and supports positive mental health narratives.  

[June 26, 2024, New York City] — The Jed Foundation (JED) and the Mental Health Storytelling Initiative (MHSI) of USC Annenberg, along with SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios, are proud to announce the launch of the Digital Storytelling Guide at VidCon 2024. This innovative, free, mobile-friendly hub, accessible at digitalstorytellingguide.com, is designed to support content creators in fostering positive mental health narratives.

“Social media is an integral part of the lives of many young people and a place where they find community, access information, and learn about the world around them,” said Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, Chief Medical Officer of The Jed Foundation. “The engagement between digital content creators and their audiences can profoundly impact the well-being of both communities — how they perceive themselves, think about mental health, and take actions that can either support or compromise their overall well-being. The new Digital Storytelling Guide will provide much-needed information to countless content creators to support themselves and their audiences while addressing pressing mental health challenges.” 

Developed in collaboration with content creators and leading experts in mental health and media and informed by the Mental Health Media Guide, the Digital Storytelling Guide provides: 

• Creator-specific mental health resources and self-care information.
• Storytelling tools and tips for creating safe, impactful content on topics including mental health conditions, body image, climate anxiety, how to support friends, and major life events such as breakups and loss.
• Information on how creators can offer resources and work with nonprofits and experts to support their community while protecting their own well-being.

“We know creators play a significant role in shaping the mental health narratives of their communities. Until now, they haven’t had a resource that directly addresses the unique challenges they face,” said Ashley Kolaya, Lead Impact and Engagement Officer at the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. “We believe this Guide will equip them with the tools they need to foster safe, supportive, and impactful mental health conversations.” 

“SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios is proud to support the development of the Digital Storytelling Guide as part of our ongoing commitment to expanding mental health storytelling,” said Noopur Agarwal, Vice President of Social Impact for SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios. “We recognize the influence content creators have on audiences and want to ensure that storytellers across all forms of media have the resources they need to advance impactful mental health narratives.”

VidCon is the world’s largest event for fans, creators, executives, and brands who are passionate about digital content and its creators, community-led media, and building diverse communities. Attendees can learn more and explore the Digital Storytelling Guide at two events:  

Panel Event 

Self Care: Not Just Face Masks & Hot Baths. VidCon attendees are invited to join the Self Care: Not Just Face Masks & Hot Baths panel on Saturday, June 29, at 4 p.m. at the Amplify Stage. Moderated by Courtney Knowles, JED Senior Media Advisor, the panel will draw creator self-care tips from the Guide and feature creators Sarah Schauer, Kelly Kay, and Boze discussing what self-care means to them, why they see it as a priority rather than a luxury, and how they use self-care practices to navigate their busy lives.

Expo Hall Experience

Practice How to A.S.K. & Check Out the Digital Storytelling Guide. Attendees can explore the Digital Storytelling Guide at the A.S.K. café, located on the Expo floor at booth 521. Visitors will receive free boba tea after practicing the new “stop, drop, and roll” for how to help a friend — A.S.K., which stands for Acknowledge, Support, and Keep-in-Touch. They will also have access to the Guide’s insights on how to create content that positively affects their audiences while safeguarding their own mental health. 

Learn more about the Digital Storytelling Guide, a resource designed by creators, for creators.

Interviews are available with mental health and media experts from JED, the Mental Health Storytelling Initiative, and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios upon request.

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About The Jed Foundation

JED is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. We’re partnering with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. We’re equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. We’re encouraging community awareness, understanding, and action for young adult mental health.

Connect with JED: Email | X | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | Snapchat | Pinterest | TikTok

About Mental Health Storytelling Initiative

The Mental Health Storytelling Initiative uses the power of storytelling to improve mental health, both for storytellers and their audiences. MHSI, launched with support from MTV Entertainment and housed at USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative, oversees the Mental Health Storytelling Coalition, an unprecedented multi-sector partnership between more than 70 leading entertainment industry partners and mental health organizations. In 2021, MHSI launched the Mental Health Media Guide, a groundbreaking, comprehensive resource for content creators designed to help expand positive mental health portrayals.

About SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks 

SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks is a global network of media assets that reaches over one billion people in more than 180 countries featuring some of the most iconic brands in entertainment including SHOWTIME, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Network among others – and, its Studios arm which produces 120+ series annually, including some of today’s biggest hits such as Yellowstone, Yellowjackets, Emily in Paris, 1883, 1923, George & Tammy, South Park, Tulsa King, RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Challenge and Jersey Shore, to name a few.

Media Contact

Justin Barbo
Director of Public Relations
The Jed Foundation (JED)
justin@jedfoundation.org

[June 6, 2024, Austin, Texas & New York City] – The Jed Foundation (JED), in partnership with the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition and Hi, How Are You Project (HHAYP), today released “Responding to a Suicide: Postvention Guidance for Student Housing Managers.” The new emergency preparedness guidebook provides best practices to off-campus student housing managers on how to handle the sudden and tragic loss of a resident in a community — likely one of the most challenging experiences they may encounter in their roles. 

This resource gives student housing managers a greater understanding of this difficult topic and clear direction on each step of a postvention response, including specific steps to take in the immediate aftermath of a suicide to support and protect other community members. The guidebook also offers evidence-based guidelines and protocols on how to:

• Engage with law enforcement.
• Communicate with campus officials and the residential community.
• Facilitate rapid support.
• Memorialize the deceased.
• Plan for long-term and future approaches to prevention and postvention.

More than 16 million teens and adults nationwide reported experiencing suicidal thoughts in 2023. Off-campus student housing operators are uniquely positioned to help with suicide prevention and postvention responses, as nearly 75% of suicides occur where people live. According to data collected by College House and other sources, about 80% of full-time college students nationwide lived in off-campus housing in 2023, including apartment and condominium complexes, rental homes, and at home with parents or family members.

Following an evidence-based postvention response in a community supports the bereaved and assists and protects anyone whose risk of self-harm may increase after someone else’s suicide. Therefore, sound postvention processes are also an important element of an effective prevention-based approach.

“We are at a pivotal moment where we continue to lose young people at increasing rates to suicide,” says Dr. Kurt Michael, senior clinical director at JED. “The urgency has never been greater, and our partnership with the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition and HHAYP is a crucial step toward change. This guidebook provides essential support to communities in the wake of a tragedy, and importantly, it also provides proactive measures to prevent further loss of life to suicide.”

Composed of 24 college student residential housing companies reaching 800,000 young people across the United States, the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition’s mission is to better support and understand student residents, encourage open dialogues, and raise public awareness about the importance of mental wellness and its impact on students. 

“Given our mission to create and foster environments where students thrive, how we respond to issues is just as important as the work to create communities of belonging in partnership with universities and colleges,” says Gina Cowart, senior vice president of brand and MarCom strategy at American Campus Communities and co-founding member of the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition. “We’re grateful to partner with an organization like JED who can provide their expertise in this space along with needed insights and resources to all Coalition members.” 

“We are grateful to work with mental health organizations like the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition and JED, as these partnerships broaden our reach and expand our ability to help remove the stigma around mental health,” says Robert Sanchez, executive director of HHAYP. “Fostering thoughtful and honest conversations is imperative in creating a sense of interconnectedness, especially during these crucial times, and ultimately to better understand mental health and wellness across the college student demographic.”

Together, JED, the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition, and HHAYP aim to prepare young people for the unexpected circumstance when a life is lost, while also increasing awareness of warning signs, normalizing help-seeking behaviors, and disseminating life-saving resources.

Responding to a Suicide: Postvention Guidance for Student Housing Managers can be downloaded here. 

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About The Jed Foundation (JED)
JED is a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. We’re partnering with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. We’re equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. We’re encouraging community awareness, understanding, and action for young adult mental health.
Connect with JED: Email | X | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | Snapchat | Pinterest | TikTok

About the College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition
The College Student Mental Wellness Advocacy Coalition is an alliance of the nation’s top student housing providers who advocate for student mental wellness through encouraging open conversations, providing resources, and developing industry-wide peer-to-peer staff training programs, in partnership with mental wellness non-profit Hi, How Are You Project (HHAYP). Since its founding in 2022, the Coalition continues to expand its reach and impact as it envisions a world where all young adults thrive thanks to the support of their residential communities that are dedicated to promoting and advocating for mental wellness to facilitate personal fulfillment and academic success. www.thrivingcollegestudents.org

About the Hi, How Are You Project
The Hi, How Are You Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to educate young people worldwide about the importance of mental health and well-being through creative content, events and community-building programs. Inspired by the renowned mural in Austin, TX, painted by the late Daniel Johnston, a celebrated songwriter and visual artist who battled mental illness throughout his life, the project aims to honor his legacy while promoting mental wellness. www.hihowareyou.org

Media Contact
Justin Barbo
Director of Public Relations
The Jed Foundation (JED)
justin@jedfoundation.org

Record-breaking amount of $3.9 million raised to scale JED’s life-saving work as organization commemorates 25 years of unwavering commitment to protecting emotional health and preventing suicide for teens and young adults nationwide

[June 4, 2024, New York City] — The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit, hosted its annual Gala last night at Cipriani Wall Street. The sold-out event raised a record-breaking $3.9 million to support JED’s mission to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for teens and young adults by strengthening schools, equipping individuals, and mobilizing communities. Emmy Award–winning journalist Savannah Sellers served as the evening’s host. 

Phillip M. Satow, Co-founder, Board Member, and former Chairman of the Board of The Jed Foundation, was presented with the Visionary Award by Robert Kraft, CEO of the New England Patriots and JED Gala Chair. Satow spoke movingly in his acceptance speech. “Donna and I founded The Jed Foundation in order to answer the question that Jed’s college president asked us in 1999: ‘What should I do for a student body of 30,000 to keep them safe?’” Satow said. “If we could answer that question — while it couldn’t save our Jed, it might offer other families a path to avoiding our pain. The Jed Foundation played a major role as an initiator and accelerator of that change. We have heard this evening about the crucial work the foundation is doing: Suicide attempts happen less at JED Campus schools, fewer young people are suffering from depression and anxiety when JED programs are in place, and graduation rates are higher at JED Campus schools. The Jed Foundation is truly fulfilling its promise. Looking ahead, it has so much more promise to build its future on.” For more information about the impact of JED Campus programming, read A Decade of Improving College Mental Health Systems: JED Campus Impact Report.

The event, themed Fulfilling Our Promise, was a heartwarming gathering and celebration of more than 740 individuals and organizations, all steadfast in their commitment to help teens and young adults thrive.

Robert and Dana Kraft served as honorary co-chairs of the event alongside Gala Host Committee co-chairs Richard Pechter and Fred Poses and committee members Lisa Carnoy, Joseph Gregory, Robert Johnston, Thomas Mendell, Philip Milstein, Stephanie Stiefel, and Richard Witten. There were remarks from U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Co-founder of The Kennedy Forum and former U.S. Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy. The evening also included special performances by Young People’s Chorus of New York City; Grammy-winning and Tony-nominated actor Jenn Colella; Drama Desk Award–nominated actor Liam Pearce; and Tony-, Emmy-, Grammy-, and Pulitzer-winning composer Thomas Robert Kitt. Photos from the evening are available here.

Maybelline New York was honored with the Corporate Voice of Mental Health Award for promoting candid conversations around mental health through its Brave Together program. Through the program and together with JED, Maybelline New York created Brave Talk, a training that equips students with the skills to support their peers who may be struggling and helps to connect them to care. To date, Brave Talk has been implemented in universities worldwide and is now available in 28 countries. By 2030, the goal of Brave Together is to help 10 million people with free, professional one-to-one support so no one has to struggle alone.

Last month, Maybelline’s Brave Together program was spotlighted on the new docuseries “Healthier Together,” produced by BBC Storyworks Commercial Productions and presented by the WHO Foundation. The series highlighted the Brave Together program’s impact on the ground with local NGOs in India, Japan, and the U.S., including JED. “It is truly an honor to have Maybelline New York be recognized by The Jed Foundation as a brand making an impact on global mental health,” said Trisha Ayyagari, Global Brand President for Maybelline New York. “It is a testament to the important work our NGO partners are doing on the ground. Our goal is to make free one-to-one support accessible to everyone. We still have a long way to go and are fully committed.”

Rick Yang, a Harvard-bound senior at Scarsdale High School in New York, and Areli Rosales, a University of Texas at San Antonio sophomore, were honored as the 2024 JED Student Voice of Mental Health Award winners. They were recognized for their exceptional efforts in promoting mental health and creating support networks among their peers. 

“In a world where young people face challenges like never before, The Jed Foundation has stood as a beacon of hope and action for 25 years,” said John MacPhee, JED CEO. “Inspired by the vision of our co-founder Phillip M. Satow, we’ve been steadfast in our efforts to help schools and communities build stronger communities of caring around young people to help support their mental health and reduce risks for suicide. We are deeply grateful for the consistent support from our community and partners, which has allowed us to help protect and foster the well-being of countless teens and young adults. As we commemorate this important milestone, we renew our commitment to a society that holds youth mental health at its heart.”

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Priyanca Rao Photography

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About The Jed Foundation 

JED is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. We’re partnering with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. We’re equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. We’re encouraging community awareness, understanding, and action for young adult mental health.

Connect with JED: Email | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn | Snapchat | Pinterest 

Media Contact
Justin Barbo
Director, Public Relations
The Jed Foundation
Justin@jedfoundation.org
(914) 844-4611