Active Minds

Active Minds is a nonprofit founded in 2003 that mobilizes youth and young adults to change mental health norms through peer-led advocacy, education and awareness programmes. It describes itself as the largest organisation of its kind in the United States, and it works nationwide across high schools, colleges and communities. The organisation was started by Alison Malmon after her brother Brian died by suicide, and its mission remains driven by young people and young adults leading their peers.

Its programmes span mental health advocacy, peer mental health education, suicide prevention and school-based programming. The Active Minds Chapter Network comprises more than 500 peer-led chapters. Other initiatives include Send Silence Packing, a campaign aimed at ending the silence around mental health and suicide; A.S.K., which trains peer mental health advocates; the Emerging Scholars Fellowship; a Speakers Bureau; and Cause + Career, a platform connecting youth with careers and causes in mental health. Its K-12 Initiatives surpassed a goal of reaching 1,000 schools in 1,000 days.

Active Minds has operated for more than 20 years and reaches nearly half a million followers across its social channels. Its policy work has secured federal appropriations for youth suicide prevention programmes and placed the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on student ID cards nationwide. The organisation works with a racial equity lens and is committed to being antiracist and inclusive.