Mental Health for US

The Challenge

With one in five Americans living with a mental illness, one in 12 living with addiction, and deaths from suicide at the highest they have been in two decades, The Kennedy Forum believed it was critical that mental health and addiction reform took prominence in policy discussions during the 2020 election season. The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit founded by former U.S Representative Patrick J. Kennedy to advance evidence-based practices, policies and programming in mental health and addiction, sought a partner that could build a movement that would bring mental health and addiction reform to the forefront of national policy talks in the 2020 elections.

The Solution

CURA Strategies successfully launched Mental Health For US—the largest coalition of mental health organizations dedicated to influencing policymakers during an election season

In partnership with The Kennedy Forum, CURA Strategies successfully launched Mental Health For US, a nonpartisan initiative ahead of the 2020 election season focused on educating voters and policymakers on barriers to mental health and addiction treatment and recovery resources, while empowering voters to advocate for mental health policies and improving candidate and policymaker health literacy. CURA developed and executed a strategic communications plan with the following goals:

• Position Mental Health for US (MH for US) as a leading movement to elevate mental health and addiction in national policy conversations through strategic communications and media relations efforts
• Recruit coalition leaders and members and policy influencers to join the honorary advisory board
• Develop a national policy platform on mental health and addiction in coordination with coalition leaders
• Recruit voters to sign a statement of support for the coalition’s policy platform
• Educate voters and policymakers on the urgency to address barriers to mental health and addiction treatment and recovery

To achieve these goals, CURA:

• Led all stakeholder engagement efforts, including recruitment, messaging development and all ongoing communications.
• Developed a policy platform laying out the general areas that the mental health community wants addressed, organized in the categories of prevention, access, intervention and recovery.
• Developed and disseminated a presidential candidate survey on mental health and addiction
• Developed the initiative branding, messaging and website, in addition to all the initiative’s content and assets, including videos, social media, print materials and various swag for coalition leaders to distribute at events
• Developed toolkits for stakeholders, voters and policymakers, detailing how to advocate for and promote mental health and addiction policy change.
• Ran three advocacy events, that took place in Iowa, New Hampshire and California
• Secured broadcast and traditional media coverage
• Developed the successful #AskAboutMentalHealth social media campaign urging Democratic primary debate moderators to ask questions on mental health and addiction
• Producing voter engagement content, including holding an advocacy/voter registration training webinar in partnership with the National Association of Social Workers

The Results

Testimonials

Awards

Services