Did you know 1 in 5 Americans has a mental health issue and 12.8 million adults live with a severe mental illness? Now when I spout these statistics at you, let’s remember something important: These are not numbers; these are people. It’s the childhood friend you lost touch with but remember fondly. It’s the quiet neighbor that always wears a smile. It’s the boisterous yet remarkably intelligent student you admire.

And yet, we continue to face an uphill battle with an underfunded, fractured mental health system. About 2 million people with mental illness are booked into jails every year, mainly because they didn’t get the treatment they needed. 

But did you know an inmate with mental illness in jail costs approx. $31,000 a year, while community-based mental health treatment costs only $10,000 a year?

When we improve mental health services and reduce stigma around mental health issues, we lessen the burden not only on the nation’s resources but also on those in need of real solutions.

Join me in a pledge, together with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, to end the stigma around mental health. Let’s champion for positive change in our communities and in our health care systems to ensure there is a tomorrow where all people affected by mental illness—that friend, that neighbor, that student—can experience hope, care, and compassion.

Five percent of every product package on this website sold is donated to NAMI at the end of each calendar month.

NAMI is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization. They provide advocacy, education, support, and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives. Visit NAMI.org to learn more.