Advocacy and Support: Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a month to amplify voices, disrupt stigma, and strengthen our collective commitment to mental well-being. While discussions about mental health have increased in recent years, we still have a long way to go in creating a world where every individual feels safe, seen, and supported in their mental health journey.
This month isn’t simply about awareness—it’s about allyship, action, and advocacy.

Why Advocacy Matters
Advocacy is how we turn empathy into action. It’s the invitation to a representative to speak up for more access to mental health services. It’s the parent insisting on trauma-sensitive treatment for schools. It’s the co-worker giving room for a co-worker to take a mental health day without judgment.
Mental health advocacy isn’t about speaking up—it’s about standing up. For policies that protect. For systems that work. For people who toooften get left behind, ignored, or misunderstood.
We are the advocates so that no one has to struggle alone. So that care is a public right, not a privilege. So that our communities know that mental health isn’t a personal issue—it’s a public issue.

How You Can Support Mental Health—This Month and Beyond
You don’t have to be a professional or expert to help make a difference. You can start within your circle—your support system of friends, family, workplace, or online community. Below are some ways to show support during Mental Health Awareness Month:
1. Start (and Normalize) the Conversation
Ask someone how they are really doing. Be open to sharing your own experiences if you feel you can. Show that talking about mental health is as normal as talking about physical health.
2. Educate Yourself
Learn about different mental health illnesses. Learn how mental health intersects with race, gender, sexuality, disability, and socio-economic status. Knowledge is what makes awareness powerful.
3. Support Mental Health Organizations
Donate, volunteer, or tell others about agencies that provide life-saving treatment, education, and advocacy. Such agencies tend to be grassroots organizations.
4. Be a Policy Ally
Advocate for bills that increase access to mental health treatment, support community-based care, and protect the rights of those who live with mental illness. Your voice matters.
5. Be an Everyday Ally
Practice empathy. Avoid judgment. Listen deeply. Whether you areassisting someone in crisis or just showing up in a regular fashion, allyship is a daily practice.

Shattering Stigma, Creating Solidarity
Struggles with mental health do not discriminate—these issues beset people of all ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles. However too oftenstigma keeps people from seeking help, believing they are worthy of receiving help, or receiving it.
This month, let’s keep in mind: Mental health isn’t a defect of character. Seeking help is not weakness. Recovery is not linear. And everyone—every single person—should have access to care, compassion, and community.

Let’s Keep the Momentum Going
Awareness is just the beginning. What we do with that awareness—how we advocate, support, and show up—is what drives actual change.
Whether you’re sharing your own experience, speaking out for a loved one, teaching others, or simply being kind to your own mental health, you’re part of this movement.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s continue to speak out, stand up, and hold space—for ourselves and for each other.

If you would like to see how we can help, book a FREE 10 minute intake call here: Contact – Psychotherapist, Marriage Counselor, LMFT: NYC, Manhattan (embracingjoy.com)