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Health
How Men’s Mental Health Resources Can Help Serve All Communities
One of the toughest challenges for social impact leaders can be reaching people who have been historically stigmatized or excluded by social and cultural norms.
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Health
Beyond ‘Toughing It Out’: Mental Health in the Social Change Workplace
Integrating mental health in social change workplaces allows us to cultivate new narratives and norms that will better sustain long-term engagement with social change.
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Health
Learning From the Climate-Mental Health Convergence
The climate movement has lessons for all social impact practitioners working to create a more just and healthy world.
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Health
The Power of Mental Health to Break Cycles of Violence and Promote Peace
Mental health is an essential intervention to address violence and trauma at the individual, interpersonal, and systemic levels.
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INTRODUCTIONHealth
The Case for Mental Health in Our Social Change Worlds
Integrating positive mental health practices is the only way for social change leaders to maximize the incredible potential of their organizations and the communities they serve.
Global Perspectives on Mental Health and Social Change
The fields of mental health and social change are at a critical juncture. Reports of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions continue to increase in the United States and globally. At the same time, our societies desperately need the full potential of social change and innovation in order to meet this moment of technological, communal, and environmental precarity.
While mental health and social change are frequently considered separately, the evidence is strong that integrating the two can lead to lasting impact. At its core, mental health allows individuals and communities to navigate life’s difficulties toward a sense of growth and contribution, making collective engagement in social change possible. Meanwhile, leveraging the spaces of social change to build positive mental health can increase accessibility in marginalized communities far beyond the formal mental health system.
The good news is that many social entrepreneurs and innovators are paving the way to effectively incorporate and advance mental health in the social sector. Amongst the Catalyst 2030 Mental Health Collaboration, led by a global collective movement of social changemakers and chaired by Chris Underhill, there are countless stories of how addressing mental health has amplified social and environmental impact. This series features the voices of leaders from across the Collaboration who have integrated mental health into their work. Each article will explore the why and how of addressing mental health in support of climate justice, gender equity, peacebuilding, and the workplace. In addition to examples and case studies, contributors will offer tools and practical steps for social change leaders everywhere to leverage the power of mental health to advance their mission.