Okay to Say™ Public Awareness Campaign

Having a support system is essential to recovery for people who have experienced a mental health need. Okay to Say addressed this by creating new opportunities for meaningful conversations between friends and loved ones about mental health concerns. The campaign encouraged speaking openly about mental illness and encouraged people to take active roles in supporting their loved ones who are dealing with a mental health concern.

A core mission of Okay to Say was to reduce and eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness and promote open discussion about mental health. Through digital media, local events, and community partnerships, the Okay to Say campaign reached millions of people across the nation, encouraging them to speak up about mental health and to share hope through open and honest conversations with trusted family members and friends.

The campaign’s highlights include:

• Connecting communities to mental health resources and support through its website and social media platforms, including guidance for those supporting a loved one with a mental illness, resources for parents and caregivers, and ways to stay mentally healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery.
• Hosting local screenings of the documentary Angst, a hopeful film about teenagers and anxiety, paired with engaging expert-led discussions for high school and college students, and families.
• Developing a statewide Okay to Say Mental Health Girl Scout patch program in partnership with the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. The patch was designed to help girls develop greater social and emotional confidence and learn how emotions and thoughts can impact their own behavior and the behavior of others.
• Creating multiple toolkits for the workplace and classroom, including one in partnership with the San Antonio Mobile Mental Wellness collaborative. These toolkits offered downloadable resources such as worksheets, stickers, bookmarks, writing prompts, and classroom exercises to help promote mental health.
• Partnering with the Dallas-based Cry Havoc Theater Company to produce the mental-health-related production “The Art of Broken Things”.
• Development of materials and resources for state legislative officials to provide to their constituents.
• Sharing hope, inspiration, and resources to those experiencing mental health concerns, and their loved ones, through social media, including monthly Facebook and Instagram Live series.