Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

The Jed Foundation

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Founded
  
2000

Method
  
Education

Area served
  
United States

Key people
  
Phil and Donna Satow

The Jed Foundation

Focus
  
Suicide prevention, Mental illness

Mission
  
"to promote emotional health and prevent suicide among college and university students"

The Jed Foundation is a non-profit organization working to promote emotional health and prevent suicide among college and university students.

Contents

The Objectives of The Jed Foundation are to:

  • Promote awareness and understanding that emotional well-being is achievable, mental illness is treatable and suicide is preventable
  • Increase knowledge of the warning signs of suicide & emotional distress
  • Foster help-seeking so that those who need supportive services reach out to secure them, or are referred to services by a peer
  • Build and strengthen resilience, coping skills and connectedness among young adults, their peers, families and communities
  • Facilitate adoption of a comprehensive, community-based approach to promote emotional health and protect at-risk students on campus
  • Raise the importance of mental health services, policies and programs in the college selection process of students and parents

    • History

    The Jed Foundation was founded in 2000 by Donna and Phil Satow after they lost their son Jed, a college sophomore, to suicide. The organization works in collaboration with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, set up in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Campaigns

    Jed and Clinton Health Matters Campus Program The Jed and Clinton Health Matters Campus Program (Campus Program) was created to help colleges and universities create healthier and safer campus environments to help prevent the two leading causes of death in young adults,— unintentional injuries, including those caused by prescription drug overdoses or alcohol poisoning, and suicide .

    ULifeline is a confidential online resource center where college students can learn more about their emotional health and reach out for help if they are struggling. Over 1,500 colleges and universities are part of the ULifeline network.

    Half of Us is a Peabody Award-winning awareness campaign The Jed Foundation launched with mtvU. The program discusses the statistic that half of all college students struggle with depression at one point during their college career. Many celebrities, including Mary J. Blige, Pete Wentz, and Brittany Snow, participated in the effort.

    Love is Louder is a widespread outreach program started by The Jed Foundation with actress Brittany Snow and MTV to support anyone feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone. A number of celebrities including some who had been personally affected by bullying in their youth, spoke out openly in videos broadcast on mtvU and YouTube. In 2011, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, and Victoria Justice teamed with Seventeen magazine to join the campaign to help teenagers cope with personal struggles. This campaign has been supported by Miley Cyrus, Victoria Justice, Camilla Belle, Zendaya, AnnaSophia Robb, Ashley Argota, Ke$ha, Savvy and Mandy, Anna Kendrick and Caroline Sunshine.

    Transition Year is an online resource center that helps students and their families focus on emotional health before, during and after the college transition.

    References

    The Jed Foundation Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA