Mental Health Awareness Month: advocacy in action

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a national observance created in 1949 to highlight the value of mental wellbeing and celebrate recovery. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers a free digital toolkit you can share with staff and patients.

The 2025 landscape: need still outweighs access

About 1 in 5 U.S. adults and 1 in 6 youth experience a mental health condition each year, yet almost 55 percent of adults receive no treatment (NAMI; Mental Health America). Cost remains a major barrier—24.6 percent of adults who report frequent mental distress say they skip care because they cannot afford it (MHA 2024). Workforce shortages compound the gap; nationwide there are roughly 340 people for every one mental health provider (MHA workforce data). These realities make coordinated advocacy in May essential.

Five ways you can drive impact this month

• Use brief, validated screening tools in primary and specialty settings
• Add the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and local hotlines to discharge instructions and portals
• Host a community webinar or grand-round session that normalizes help seeking
• Review workflows for cultural humility and plain-language materials
• Partner with schools, workplaces or other community based groups to deliver mental health literacy training

Free resources you can share today

Download ready-made graphics, fact sheets and conversation guides from SAMHSA and Mental Health America to amplify your outreach.

Refer with confidence to Endeavor Health Behavioral Health

We provide every level of care—from same-day assessment to inpatient stabilization and specialty outpatient programs for anxiety, trauma, eating disorders and substance use. Our team shares timely progress updates and accepts most insurance plans.