It's Okay to Get Help! It's not just words, it's a new approach for the mental health of our citizens. It's a collaboration of all healthcare, private and government agencies. It's a Prevention and Education campaign. In 2008, the Mental Health Association in Indian River County, Florida identified a serious gap in mental health services; prevention and education. Over the past century psychiatry and therapy has progressed incredibly, but transferring that learned information to our citizens has remained stagnant. We realized people only learn the information needed to address an issue after the issue escalated to a crisis state. We realized that if we could educate the public on early signs and symptoms of common issues, our citizens could easily identify warning signs long before a crisis occurs. We realized that if people don't know they are sick or in a sick situation, why would they get help? We deliver these messages by using popular Cable TV Channels, radio stations, print media and school television networks. The MHA has its own prevention and education team with its own studio and video and graphics team. That team creates commercials, radio shows, public service announcements and printed materials and they do this at very little in cost, which removes the previous barriers of financing such a campaign.
The It's Okay to Get Help logo and campaign is trademarked and other MHA's have jumped on board. By doing so, they gain immediate access to everything the campaign has to offer; they have total use of the MHA marketing, video and graphics team. Therefore, even the smallest MHA has the same tools as the big boys-- from creating letterhead, banners, bumper stickers, and power points to 1 hour PBS specials, this team creates a product that has the potential to propel any MHA to the next level. Our collaboration with our partners is strong. We now have over 40 agencies participating in Indian river county and It's Okay is everywhere. Our citizens are finally recognizing that no matter who you are "It's Okay to Get Help! Whether you are an individual who wants to contribute, a business that wants to sponsor programming or an MHA that wants to make a difference. Join us in making history!