Transforming Young Lives Through Mentorship, Education & Support
Solidarity Changes the Narrative on Mental Health
GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPSTOGETHER FOR YOU INSIGHTSYOUTH & FAMILIESCOMMUNITY RESILIENCEMENTAL HEALTH & VIOLENCE PREVENTIONCOMMUNITY INVESTMENTMENTAL HEALTHSUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH
James Hollywood III & Eiman Elsawy
9/10/2025
Solidarity Changes the Narrative on Mental Health
By James Hollywood III and Eiman Elsawy
Introduction
Suicide is not only a personal loss, it is a global public health crisis (or emergency). Every year, more than 720,000 lives are cut short by suicide, making it the third major cause of death among young people aged 15-29 (WHO, 2025). For mothers, suicide accounts for nearly one in five maternal deaths (Policy Center of Maternal Mental Health, 2025). These are not just statistics; they are teachers, brothers, daughters, and neighbors whose absence leaves permanent voids in families and communities. Communities are deeply affected by these suicide incidents, as each life lost has significant emotional, social, and economic consequences. However, collective efforts must be much needed more so than ever, to change the narrative on suicide and make it a health priority to care for those who tend to suffer in silence.
The impact of each life lost reverberates far beyond the individual. Families are left with grief and unanswered questions. Communities face social and economic costs as human potential is erased. Nations struggle under the weight of preventable suffering. Suicide is rarely the result of a single cause; it reflects the systemic failures in how society responds to the mental health needs of others.
To change this reality, we must also change the narrative. Suicide cannot be reduced to personal weakness or hidden in silence. It must be recognized as a collective health challenge that requires solidarity, investment, shared responsibility, and a willingness to listen when the words and signs are unspoken and unrecognizable. Only by standing together, across families, communities, and nations, can we rewrite the story of mental health from one of stigma to one of HOPE.
Challenges in the Mental Health Sector
More than one billion people worldwide are living with a mental health condition (WHO, 2024). Yet, despite the sheer scale of need, investment in mental health remains among the lowest of any area of public health. The disparities are stark: wealthy counties spend exponentially more per person on mental health than low-income nations, and even in the wealthiest states, resources are stretched thin. Across 144 countries surveyed by the WHO, the pattern is clear. Mental health systems are underfunded, understaffed, and underprioritized.
This neglect is not merely about budgets; it reflects a more profound social failing. Stigma continues to silence those who struggle, blocking them from seeking care or support. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies stigma on three levels: structural (laws and policies that restrict rights), public (negative stereotypes that fuel discrimination), and self-stigma (internalized shame and self-blame). Together, these layers of stigma create an invisible barrier that prevents prevention. Even as science advances and treatments improve, people remain locked out of care due to fear, judgment, or a lack of access.
These consequences are devastating. Suicide prevention remains grossly underdeveloped in most countries, in part because reliable data is scarce, but also because cultural taboos suppress open conversations. This silence costs lives. Until mental health is treated with the same urgency as other public health threats, the global community will continue to lose lives that could have been saved.
Solidarity is therefore not optional; it is urgent and necessary. Addressing mental health requires more than clinics and counselors; it requires change, political will, and cross-sector collaboration. Without collective action, the gap between need and response will only widen.
Promoting Mental Health at the Local Level
Across the United States, governors, advocacy groups, and nonprofits are experimenting with new approaches to mental health policy. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on July 30, 2025, explicitly aimed at reducing suicide among boys and men, a group often overlooked in public health strategies. The order directs the state’s Health and Human Services Agency to design strategies that not only improve access to mental health services but also connect young men with education and job opportunities, recognizing that purpose and stability are protective factors against despair.
Maternal mental health has also gained long-overdue attention. Since 2019, the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance (MMHLA) has advanced data collection, advocacy, and partnerships to support maternal mental health. Its 2025 Advocacy Agenda calls for four goals: for stable funding of the national maternal health hotline, continued investment in the maternal mental health and substance use disorder programs, targeted support for military mothers, and protection of essential federal programs from cuts. Illinois has taken a different route, embedding mental health into schools. On July 31, 2025, Governor J.B.. Pritzker signed a bill requiring annual health screenings for public school students beginning in the 2027-2028 academic year.. This policy reflects a recognition that schools are often the frontlines where warning signs first appear. CDC data underscores the urgency between 2022 and 2023, 11% of children were diagnosed with anxiety, 8% with a behavioral disorder, and 4% with depression, conditions that, if undetected, can affect both academic achievement and long-term well-being.
In border communities such as Laredo, Texas, the push is grassroots. On September 1, 2025, the Area Health and Education Center joined the Laredo Suicide Prevention Committee to rally residents around the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Their message was simple but powerful: no one is alone, and help is always available.
Taken together, these policies and initiatives, state-level executive orders, maternal health advocacy, school-based screenings, and local action and mobilization, illustrate a growing recognition that mental health should be addressed across the multiple layers of society. Progress here is being made, but the scale of the crisis demands much more ambition and coordination, funding, and support.
From Local to Global Action
The movement for mental health is not confined to the United States. Around the world, countries are starting to recognize that mental well-being is inextricably linked to social and economic development. On March 25, 2025, the World Health Organization released new guidance urging governments to overhaul outdated approaches. The framework calls for bold action: tackling social and economic drivers of poor mental health, embedding prevention strategies, and giving people with lived experience a seat at the policymaking table.
Lesotho, which carries the highest suicide rate in the world, has attempted to respond with a Mental Health Policy and Strategic Plan (2023-2027) aligned with the WHO call for transformation. Chronic shortages of mental health professionals, inadequate facilities, and limited resources continue to leave many citizens without care, underscoring the gap between policy on paper and reality on the ground.
Guyana, which holds the second-highest suicide rate globally(Ballmick, 2025), is experimenting with more innovative reforms. With UNICEF's funding and technical support, the county launched its first mental health court on June 26, 2025. The court prioritizes treatment and rehabilitation over punishment, signaling a shift from criminalization to compassion. It also highlights the power of partnerships between government, international organizations, and civil society in shaping more humane responses.
These examples, whether in high-income nations or small developing states, demonstrate a common truth: mental health progress depends not only on policies but on solidarity. Global challenges require global cooperation, and mental health is no exception. Without sustained investment and collective resolve, the cycle of neglect and loss will persist.
Why does It Matter?
Promoting mental health is not only a moral imperative, but it is also a developmental priority. The United Nations’ third Sustainable Development Goal calls on all nations to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” Suicide prevention, stigma reduction, and access to care are central to that vision. When mental health is treated as a public health priority, communities do more than prevent deaths; they nurture resilience, strengthen families, and unlock human potential that fuels economic and social progress.
The global agenda also plays out at the local level, where nonprofits and community-based organizations carry much of the work. Together For You is such an organization, committed to empowering youth and families by making mental health a cornerstone of its programs. From mentorship and behavioral health support to carer readiness and reentry services, the organization embodies the principle that healthy minds are essential for thriving communities.
Call to action
World Suicide Prevention Day urges us to “Changing the Narrative on Suicide.” But changing the narrative is more than a slogan; it is a moral call to action. It means breaking the silence, dismantling stigma, and creating communities where people feel safe to speak, seek help, and be met with compassion rather than judgment.
Nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, and frontline workers have carried much of this burden, but their efforts alone cannot stem the tide. Real change requires collective commitment, policymakers who allocate resources, health systems that deliver care, schools and workplaces that promote wellbeing, and families and friends who provide everyday support.
Solidarity is not just the theme of this article; it is the path forward. By standing together, we can rewrite the story of mental health from one of isolation and loss to one of connection, healing, and hope.
Sources:
Austin, S. (2025, July 30). California governor signs executive order to support boys and men and improve their mental health. Associated Press.
Ballmick, A. K. (2025). The silent crisis: Suicide rates and mental health neglect in Guyana. Journal of Psychiatry Research Reviews & Reports, 7(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.47363/JPSRR/2025(7)189
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, June 5). Data and statistics on children’s mental health. CDC.
https://www.cdc.gov/children-mental-health/data-research/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, June 9). Mental health stigma. CDC.
https://www.cdc.gov/mental-health/stigma/index.html
DataPandas. (2025, May 24). Suicide rate by country. DataPandas.
https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/suicide-rate-by-country
De La Rosa, J. (2025, September 1). ‘There is help’: Laredo advocates raise suicide prevention, 988 Lifeline awareness at rally. Laredo Morning Times.
Lesotho NewsDesk.(2025, April 30). Lesotho faces growing mental health crisis despite new policy and strategic plan [Lifestyle article].
Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance. (2025, April 9). Improving maternal mental health in the U.S.: MMHLA’s 2025 advocacy agenda.
https://www.mmhla.org/articles/improving-maternal-mental-health-in-the-us-mmhla-2025-advocacy-agenda?
Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health. (2024, September 10). Maternal Suicide in the U.S. – Opportunities for improved data collection and health care system change [Issue brief]. Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health.
https://policycentermmh.org/maternal-suicide-issue-brief/
United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2025, June 27). Guyana launches its first Mental Health Court: A rehabilitative, child-sensitive milestone [Press release]. UNICEF Guyana & Suriname.
https://www.unicef.org/guyanasuriname/press-releases/guyana-launches-its-first-mental-health-court
World Health Organization. (2025, March 25). Suicide [Fact sheet]. World Health Organization.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide
World Health Organization. (2025, March 25). New WHO guidance calls for urgent transformation of mental health policies [News release]. Geneva, Switzerland.
https://www.who.int/news/item/25-03-2025-new-who-guidance-calls-for-urgent-transformation-of-mental-health-policies?
World Health Organization. (2025, September 2). Over a billion people living with mental health conditions – services require urgent scale-up [News release]. WHO.
World Health Organization. (2025, September 2). WHO releases new reports and estimates highlighting urgent gaps in mental health. WHO.
World Health Organization. (2025, September 10). Changing the narrative on suicide. World Suicide Prevention Day 2025. https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-suicide-prevention-day/2025
Yu, Y.-J. (2025, August 1). Illinois becomes 1st state to require student mental health screenings. ABC News.
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/illinois-1st-state-require-student-mental-health-scree