Mental health is important at every stage of our lives. We know that mental illness indirectly affects almost all Canadians at some time either through their own experience, or that of a family member, friend or colleague.
Racial, ethnic and gendered disparities in mental health care access and utilization have been well documented throughout the years. This fact was important as we considered the target demographic for a mental health campaign taking place on the North Shore – one of the most diverse communities in Vancouver.
The Challenge
Stigma and discrimination attached to mental illnesses and substance use problems present a serious barrier to not only mental health diagnosis and treatment, but also to access to employment, housing, and other basic necessities. Stigma and a police-centered response to mental health crises both creates and deepens social marginalization.
Yulu was recruited to help the Canadian Mental Health Association North and West Vancouver to launch a campaign tied to Mental Health Week to raise awareness of PACT (Peer Assisted Care Team) – BC’s first civilian led-crisis team that offers a trauma informed and decriminalized approach to mental health crises – encouraging behavior change via increased use of the PACT helpline.
The Strategy
We worked closely with CMHA North and West Vancouver to create #TogetherNorthShore – a campaign to celebrate the importance of community in supporting mental health while also raising awareness of PACT. The campaign educated folks about what PACT is and its place in mental health crisis response, and encouraged familiarity with the helpline.
The Results & Impact
Yulu led a successful media and influencer campaign in just six weeks.
- The campaign garnered nine pieces of coverage across TV, radio and online reaching 16.3M – all pieces accurately portrayed PACT and the #TogetherNorthShore campaign.
- Additionally, we saw strong community engagement with 60 influencers, community members and organizations supporting the campaign, resulting in 124 posts, reaching (197k).
- The campaign also attracted the attention of 13 provincial government officials who supported the campaign on social media, all of which helped increase CMHA’s follower count across all channels.
Lastly, and most importantly, the campaign led to a large spike in calls to the PACT helpline, demonstrating direct impact from the campaign.
