According to the CDC, suicide is the second leading cause of death among Gen Zers, and yet only 16 percent of all children receive mental health assistance in school. With her new campaign Mental Health 101, Selena Gomez is hoping to change that statistic. The singer has launched the initiative to raise awareness for the importance of mental health education in schools and communities.
Mental Health 101 is a campaign Gomez launched in partnership with her Rare Beauty brand. Along with aiming to increase mental health education in schools, Mental Health 101 is working to secure funding to pay for education services.
Announcing the campaign in a heartfelt letter, Gomez got candid about her own struggles with mental health in the past:
“Today, I’m grateful that we get to launch Mental Health 101. This campaign is so close to my heart because of my own struggles with mental health. I know first hand how scary and lonely it can feel to face anxiety and depression by yourself at a young age. If I had learned about my mental health earlier on–been taught about how my condition in school the way I was taught about other subjects–my journey could have looked very different.
The world needs to know that mental health matters. It’s just as important as your physical health, and I wish we could all acknowledge that, not just in words but through our actions.
For anyone who is hurting right now, I hope you know that you are not alone. I’m a believer in seeking help. Getting support and educating myself on mental health has changed my life, and it can change yours, too.
I hope that Mental Health 101 will be the stepping stones for others that I wish I had… to get connected to the resources that they need, and to empower young people in ways that may not have been possible before.”
Find more information about Gomez’s Mental Health 101 initiative here.