Rizzle Kicks' Jordan Stephens stars in a new music video for #IAMWHOLE, an NHS anti-stigma campaign launched yesterday to coincide with World Mental Health Day, which now takes place annually on October 10. Run in partnership with the YMCA, the earned media campaign is backed by a host of celebrities, including James Corden, Ed Sheeran, Liam Gallagher and Dermot O'Leary, who will use their considerable influence on social to spread the message. It is hoped the act of people posting a selfie with a circle drawn on their hand will go viral to further raise awareness.
#IAMWHOLE was live-launched with a performance of song “Whole” in the new 163m British Airways i360 structure on Brighton beach; the world’s first vertical cable car and tallest moving observation tower. Spirit Media also created a national and regional campaign as the result of a brief to reach young people aged 11-24 with a powerful anti-stigma message. Spirit Media also produced and directed the “Whole” music video, managed the partnership with Jordan Stephens and created the social media, influencer and PR campaign activity. YMCA England has also concurrently produced an I AM WHOLE report, based on the findings of new research commissioned for the campaign. The report, published by the NHS with backing from the YMCA, says 38% of 11 to 24-year-olds with mental health difficulties feel stigmatised. Perhaps more worryingly, 54% of those said they were stigmatised by their own friends, and 56% said it made them less willing to seek professional support.
Jordan Stephens said: “The #IAMWHOLE campaign message that together we are whole is so important and I am pleased to be launching it today on World Mental Health Day. My mum is a trained therapist so I’ve seen how important it is for people to get the right support and not to feel isolated. I’ve also had friends and people close to me seriously affected by mental health issues. I wrote ‘Whole’ to express how I was feeling at the bottom of a situation. When the NHS suggested it could be used to give other people a way of feeling less alone, man that felt really good.” Denise Hatton, Chief Executive of YMCA England, added: “YMCA’s research backs up conversations we have had with young people in which they have told us mental health is one of the principle worries affecting their generation today. What is alarming from these findings is the widespread stigma young people are now seeing or experiencing from others that is making them less likely to seek professional help. That’s why I encourage everyone to support #IAMWHOLE.”
Those affected can find and get help at Find Get Give; a mental health services directory for young people created by YMCA’s Right Here project in partnership with other local groups in Jordan’s childhood home of Brighton & Hove. Those hoping to get involved can also do so by sharing themselves literally holding up their hands in support and sharing the picture via social media with the #IAMWHOLE hashtag.
