Mental Health, Addiction & Substance Use

Overview

Yulu partners with nonprofits, advocacy organizations, public agencies, coalitions, and purpose‑driven brands to address urgent public health challenges: mental health inequities, addiction, and substance use harms. Through strategic storytelling and impact communications, Yulu helps partners dismantle stigma, center lived experience, and advance equitable access to care across the United States and Canada.

Relevant Work

Community Action Initiative – Toxic Drug Crisis Toolkit
Yulu equipped communities with accessible, evidence‑based communications to respond to B.C.’s toxic drug crisis.
Impact: 25+ community organizations supported; resources adopted by multiple municipalities; 100k+ impressions across campaign channels.

BC Schizophrenia Society – Holiday Fundraising Campaign
Yulu launched a creative campaign that humanized mental health challenges to raise critical funds and awareness.
Impact: 4.2M+ reach; 75+ media placements; record seasonal fundraising increase for BCSS.

BC Schizophrenia Society – #StandAgainstStigma
Yulu led communications for a national awareness campaign that challenged stereotypes and elevated lived‑experience voices.
Impact: 75+ earned media placements; 1.5M+ social reach; toolkit reused annually for awareness month.

Canadian Mental Health Association – PR Campaigns
Yulu developed and led a media relations strategy to amplify national initiatives and programs.
Impact: Coverage in National Post, CBC, and CTV; sustained media partnership driving national visibility.

CMHA Recovery College
Yulu developed the positioning and communications strategy for peer‑to‑peer, community‑based learning as an accessible mental health model.
Impact: Doubled course enrollment in six months; secured new municipal grants for expansion.

Raw Beauty Talks
Yulu’s communications campaign challenged beauty norms and promoted mental wellness through earned media and digital storytelling.
Impact: 30+ national media features; influencer partnership growth by 200%; measurable uptick in engagement around body image and self‑esteem topics.

FAQ

What is “mental health, addiction & substance use communications”?
It is specialized public health communications focused on stigma reduction, behavior change, trust‑building, and advocacy that improves access to care and support.

How does Yulu ensure communications are stigma‑free and trauma‑informed?
By co‑creating language guides, testing messages with affected communities, and following person‑first, non‑moralizing language principles with clear consent and safeguarding protocols.

What makes Yulu different from a generalist PR firm?
Yulu specializes in impact communications with deep experience in public health storytelling, rightsholder engagement, and evidence‑based campaigns across North America.

Does Yulu work with harm reduction approaches?
Yes. Yulu supports harm reduction communications grounded in evidence and community safety, including campaigns that improve awareness and reduce barriers to services.

Can Yulu help with fundraising and donor engagement?
Yes. Yulu crafts compelling cases for support, donor journeys, and creative campaigns that translate empathy into action.

How is success measured?
Yulu sets clear objectives and tracks outcomes (awareness, trust, participation, donations, advocacy actions, and policy relevance) using dashboards and periodic reporting.

Do programs adapt regionally?
Yes. Yulu’s campaigns are localized to reflect regional context, policies, language, and cultural norms across the U.S. and Canada.

Does Yulu offer spokesperson and media training?
Yes. Yulu provides trauma‑informed media training tailored for experts and lived‑experience advocates.

Do you provide rapid response / crisis support?
Yes. Yulu offers issues scanning, escalation pathways, and 24‑hour media holding statements for urgent scenarios.

Can you work with youth‑serving and Indigenous organizations?
Yes. Yulu builds culturally safe processes, rightsholder engagement, and appropriate consent. Program design is community‑led wherever possible.

Mental Health, Addiction & Substance Use Terms & Glossary

Harm reduction: Policies and practices that reduce negative consequences associated with drug use and improve safety and dignity.
Lived and living experience: Individuals with direct experience of mental health challenges and/or substance use who inform design and delivery.
Rightsholder: A community or people whose inherent rights are directly impacted by programs or policies under discussion.
Stigma‑free language: Respectful, person‑first phrasing that avoids blame, fear, or sensationalism.
Trauma‑informed: An approach that recognizes the impact of trauma and prioritizes safety, choice, collaboration, and empowerment.