Every person’s mental health matters, and raising awareness of young men’s mental health is crucial. Raising awareness of young men’s mental health is essential in combating the stigma that often discourages them from seeking help. By fostering open conversations and promoting understanding, we can create a supportive environment that empowers young men to share their struggles and access the resources they need.
Aevidum is excited to collaborate with Mind the Boys to help disseminate their Invisible Crisis resources to raise awareness of young men’s mental health. We have noticed that many of our Aevidum Clubs have more female members than male members. We hope that this program can be a tool to engage more male students and promote positive mental health among all students in your school. It is important to note that mental health is a critical focus for all students, regardless of sex or gender. We hope to develop additional campaigns that raise awareness of specific at-risk populations.
The Invisible Crisis in Boys Mental Health was created by Brian Yang and Oscar Kim, co-founders of Mind the Boys. The goal of this educational initiative is to raise awareness of the underrecognized challenges boys and men face surrounding their mental health.
Consider holding your campaign during the month of November to connect with Movember. Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s suicide. It can be great to tie into a cause (Movember) that students might already be familiar with.
To start, educate club members about the topic of boys’ mental health using one of the following options:
- Use the Mind the Boys slides as the basis for a club meeting.
- Listen to the Mind the Boys episode of the Aevidum podcast.
- Click here for the podcast episode.
- Create your own presentation or find another resource to learn about the topic.
Then work as a club to create a campaign that impacts the whole school and reaches as many members of your school as possible:
- Create a video or poster public service announcement that can raise awareness and spread information and resources. Put the posters around school or play the video during announcements.
- Partner with a boys’ athletic team for QPR, Friend to Friend training, or a wellness activity.
- Give out or sell mustache temporary tattoos to recognize Movember and increase visibility. Aevidum has a limited number of free mustache tattoos available to schools who would like to participate in this campaign. Please email clubs@aevidum.org to request tattoos.
