How do you bridge the mental health conversation with your loved ones? A new Department of Social Services ad campaign hopes to point you in the right direction for resources.
The “Notes to Self” campaign is the latest DSS awareness effort – and its coming to newspapers, TVs and radios in your town.
DSS secretary Matt Althoff said it’s an effort to break stigma for patients and those in a supportive role.
“The stigmatization we’re trying to overcome can pigeon-hole messaging," Althoff said. "We want to acknowledge, or at least try to live down or combat stigmas that exist – stereotypes – around persons that experience behavioral health concerns. We the parents, we the sons and daughters, we the work colleagues – what are we doing to write a note to ourselves to be supportive?”
Althoff said they don’t want to let mental health issues slip out of view.
“An ad campaign like this is really just meant to keep it front-of-mind," Althoff said. "You do this when you’re sitting at the red light and you see the electronic billboard, you do that when you’re driving and the radio kicks on and there’s that ad. It’s like ‘I need to do something about that.’”
Tiffany Wolfgang is the DSS chief of behavioral health, and her division led the effort. She said sometimes saving a life is as simple as a conversation.
“This campaign really is meant to provide those loved ones with those resources on how do you start that conversation," Wolfgang said. "We have some really powerful video messaging coming out reminding parents, loved ones, that sometimes it’s just reminding those individuals that you care about that you care about them.”
As the campaign begins to go live, both Wolfgang and Althoff say to remember the utility of the 988-lifeline system in moments of crisis.