SVA Joins MTV Entertainment’s Mental Health Youth Action Forum

Student Veterans of America, along with other leading nonprofits, to be part of MTV Entertainment’s mental health youth action forum in coordination with the Biden-Harris Administration

Initiative aims to empower young people to use storytelling to address the mental health crisis, driving them to take actions to help themselves and support others

WASHINGTON D.C.: More than 18 months into COVID-19 and amidst a mental health crisis, Student Veterans of America (SVA) today announced that it, along with 17 leading mental health nonprofits, will be part of MTV Entertainment Group’s first convening to empower young people to drive culture from awareness to action on mental health through storytelling and media. Senior officials from the Biden-Harris Administration, including from the Department of Health and Human Services, are expected to speak during the Forum in early 2022, which will culminate with a White House event.

“The pandemic has taken a devastating toll on the mental health of young Americans, especially in communities where resources are thin. Though mental health gets discussed globally, we still have work to do to ensure everyone in America is heard and knows where to find help. This forum will help reach young people where they are, through the communication channels they already know,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Other nonprofit partners include:

• The AAKOMA Project 
• Active Minds
• Asian Mental Health Collective
• Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation 
• Born This Way Foundation
• Bring Change to Mind
• The Jed Foundation
• Mental Wealth Alliance
• NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
• National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network
• Poderistas 
• Trans Lifeline
• The Trevor Project
• The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health 
• Vibrant Emotional Health
• We R Native

Over the past two decades, mental health struggles have risen dramatically, especially among young adults. Accelerated by the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial injustices and trauma of the last year, the mental health crisis has been called a “second pandemic” by some experts. Although mental health awareness has increased, young people still need help taking actions to support their own or their loved ones’ emotional wellbeing. In response, SVA is proud to join with MTV Entertainment Group to engage young people from across the United States to employ their creative expertise and direct knowledge of their peers to help drive their communities to take mental health actions. 

Following a two-day forum in Washington, D.C., participants will be invited to present their ideas at a White House event to a diverse audience of media and technology professionals, government officials, and nonprofit executives to help inform future creative public health campaigns related to mental health.

Participants will work with nonprofit stakeholders and industry professionals to develop creative ideas that will inspire young people to take actions to improve their everyday mental health. Encourage young people to support their peers and check in on each other; or help make young people more aware of the crisis services available to them.

MORE INFO ON MTV’S WORK: Leveraging its decades-long history of sparking conversations about mental health, in May 2021 MTV Entertainment Group launched Mental Health is Health, a multi-year initiative to tackle the nation’s growing health crisis by harnessing the power of storytelling to normalize mental health conversations and inspire action. MTVE convened a coalition of entertainment media companies and mental health experts for the Better Together Mental Health Storytelling Summit during which the Coalition unveiled The Mental Health Media Guide, a first-of-its-kind comprehensive resource for content creators designed to elevate storytelling opportunities that can change the narrative on mental health. Building on its legacy of bringing companies and organizations together to create social change, MTVE spearheaded Mental Health Action Day, an open-source global movement to shift culture from awareness to action. More than 1,400 organizations, brands, government agencies and cultural leaders participated in the inaugural event, which focused on driving people to get the mental health support they need.

If you know someone who may be interested in participating in this event, MTV Entertainment is accepting nominations through November 15, 2021.