Erasing the stigma about mental health, especially among our youth is the goal behind a multi-platform social impact movement that’s bringing wellness rallies across the country.
The Shift is a docu-series, whose aim is to start candid conversations with teens and young adults about their daily mental health struggles, including isolation, anxiety, addiction and bullying. The Shift’s iconic vehicle for change on the ground will be a retrofitted school bus turned studio. However,
in light of the pandemic, a social media initiative has evolved bringing the series online and providing access to mental health experts and professional support from collaborators, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Global Mental Health Alliance.
Mabel Aragon spoke to The Shift creator Mary Albertoli, and Erin Ryan from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about the changes they want to create with this social impact movement.
Erin Ryan
“If we start treating mental health as seriously as physical health, we won’t face as many of these situations…Having these conversations to talk about it and to know that you’re not alone and that there are resources, those are the key elements of helping to prevent suicides and deal with mental health conditions as a whole.” — Erin Ryan, NAMI Executive Director Westside LA
Mary Albertoli
“Mental health in general has been placed on the back burner for way too long and it’s going to start showing up in droves if we don’t address it on a higher scale; and we’d like the wellness rallies to be a place by which people can go…think in a way about themselves in regards to their mental health.”
— Mary Albertoli, The Shift Creator/ Youth Mental Health Advocate
For more information, visit shifttheshow.
