NAB To Offer Mental Health PSA Initiative

NAB announced today that it will be distributing public service announcements to local radio and TV stations in late July to encourage Americans to talk about mental health and seek help when needed.

on NAB’s commitment to run public service announcements encouraging a national dialogue on mental health:

President Obama commented on the NAB commitment today at the White House National Mental Health Conference. He said: “We wouldn’t accept if it only 40% of Americans with cancer got treatment. We wouldn’t accept it if only half of young people with diabetes got help. So why should we accept it when it comes to mental health? It doesn’t make sense.

“But the good news is there are plenty of groups stepping up to change that. A former colleague of mine, Gordon Smith, a former Republican Senator, lost his son to suicide ten years ago, and I remember him speaking so eloquently about it. Gordon is now the head of the National Association of Broadcasters.

“Today the National Association of Broadcasters is announcing a new campaign designed to change attitudes about mental illness through TV ads and social media, because Gordon does not want other parents to go through the agonizing loss that he’s endured. So we thank you Gordon for that great work.”

The conference is part of Obama’s response to last year’s shooting massacre at a Connecticut elementary school. While the president emphasized that most people with mental health problems are not violent, he said untreated mental illness can lead to larger tragedies.

Video of President Obama’s remarks about NAB’s commitment to produce PSAs on mental health is available here (remarks begin at the 8:25 mark).