Movember partnership with youth mental health campaign #WellBeings

"When we're young, we face a lot of pressure to do things that harm us. We pretend to be happy when there's a raging violent storm inside of our heart," says rapper Kid Cudi.

The 36-year-old musician and actor shared that powerful message when he took part in the launch of Well Beings, a major national youth mental health campaign from PBS station WETA, which launched in the US earlier this week.

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly had a devastating effect on mental health, with younger people bearing the brunt.
 
A crucial part of Movember’s mission is to address the crisis in men’s mental health.
 
Through our work funding key initiatives like Making Connections, which supports 13 projects aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing for boys and men of color or veterans and their families, we understand that poor mental health has a profound effect on the wellbeing of men and boys in the US.
 
Men are more likely to die by suicide than women. Three out of four people who take their own lives every year in the US are male. And it remains the biggest killer of men under the age of 44.
 
Although the reasons for this aren’t entirely clear, we do know that many men and boys who are going through tough times struggle in silence and don’t ask for help until it’s too late.

Perhaps that’s why Kid Cudi’s words resonate so strongly with me, especially when he says, "Once it was difficult for me to find the words. Anxiety and depression ruled my life for as long as I could remember.”

Movember knows how to talk to men and what works for them. Our public health campaigns ‘Suicide Notes Talk Too Late’ and ‘Spot the Signs’ have reached and impacted thousands of men around the world. In the wake of the pandemic, we developed Movember Conversations, a free online tool that provides practical guidance on how to start difficult conversations about mental health.
 
When stars like Kid Cudi use the power of mass media to talk openly about their own challenges, it can dramatically alter the conversation around mental health, reduce the stigma surrounding it and encourage others to seek help.

Because a crisis of this magnitude requires a major collaborative effort, Movember is proud to join this ground-breaking project, launched during NAMICon 2020, the National Alliance on Mental Illness annual convention.
 
Supported by a host of well-known names including Matthew McConaughey, Bill Pullman, Demi Moore and Alanis Morissette, Well Beings is an ambitious multimedia campaign that aims to prompt a more thoughtful conversation around mental health and to reduce that stigma and discrimination.
 
The two-year project will feature an upcoming documentary backed by award-winning executive producer Ken Burns, short films, performances, video diaries from young people living with mental illnesses and a cross-country engagement tour that spans 24 cities in the US.
 
We want to ensure that all young men have a safe place where they can share their stories and find tools and resources to support their wellbeing.
 
We must act in order to stop lives being cut short and prevent families losing out on years with the sons, brothers and friends they love.

The first step on that journey is to start talking.

For more information visit WellBeings.org, or follow @WellBeingsOrg on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, and join the conversation with #WellBeings.