Mental health is something we talk about more openly than we once did. We share experiences, ask questions and increasingly recognise that mental wellbeing deserves the same attention as physical health.
But there is still a question worth asking: what does it actually mean to stand up for mental health?
For Grae Matta Foundation, it means taking the conversation further. It means creating space for people to speak without fear of judgement, challenging the stigma that still surrounds mental health and asking whether the systems around us are actually equipped to support people when they need it.
That is the thinking behind our I Stand Up for Mental Health campaign.
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Standing up starts with a conversation
Sometimes standing up for mental health begins with something very simple: being willing to talk about it.
A conversation can make it easier for someone to say that they are struggling. It can help a colleague feel less alone, give a student the confidence to ask for support or make mental health feel like a natural part of conversations about health, work and education.
It also gives us an opportunity to challenge the assumptions that still shape how mental health is understood.
People may worry about being judged, being misunderstood or saying the wrong thing. Someone might hesitate to ask for help because they are unsure how their experience will be perceived. These concerns can make silence feel easier than speaking.
Standing up means creating a different environment.
It means listening without judgement, taking people seriously and recognising that you do not need to have all the answers to offer support. Most importantly, it means creating a culture where asking for help is met with understanding rather than shame.
Awareness on its own is not enough
Starting conversations matters, but conversations need somewhere to go.
If we encourage people to speak openly about their mental health, we also need to ask what happens when they do. Can they find the right support? Do they know where to go? Is that support accessible when they need it? Do their university or workplace have clear guidance in place?
These questions sit at the centre of Grae Matta Foundation’s work.
Our vision is for every individual in higher education and the workplace to have access to appropriate mental health support at the moment they need it. The Foundation was established in response to people not receiving the understanding and support they needed, when they needed it, and our work is focused on helping create the standards, frameworks and initiatives that can improve that experience.
Because meaningful change cannot stop at awareness. People need systems that are ready to support them.
What does standing up look like in everyday life?
There is no single way to stand up for mental health.
It could mean checking in on someone and genuinely listening to the answer. It could mean challenging an insensitive comment rather than allowing it to become part of the culture around you. It could mean finding out what mental health support is available at your workplace or university, and asking whether people actually know how to access it.
It could also mean using your voice, your time or your resources to support organisations working to create better mental health support.
These actions may feel small, but they can change the environment around us. When people feel able to speak, when organisations are willing to listen and when support is easier to access, mental health becomes part of the way we build healthier communities rather than something we only respond to when there is a crisis.
Why Grae Matta Foundation is doing this
Grae Matta Foundation exists to help create a future where people can access quality mental health services in a timely way and without unnecessary barriers.
Our work focuses particularly on higher education and the workplace, with the aim of creating mental health standards that help institutions and organisations provide clearer guidance and access to appropriate support. Alongside this, we build, test and challenge mental health initiatives to identify approaches that can become stronger models of practice.
Our work is built around three connected areas: mental health standards, research and development, and outreach and partnerships.
Together, these areas allow us to look beyond individual experiences and examine the environments in which those experiences take place. We research what works, develop practical approaches, build partnerships and work towards standards that can make mental health support more consistent and accessible.
The goal is simple, even if the work required to reach it is not: people should not have to navigate unnecessary barriers to get the support they need.
Why we launched the I Stand Up for Mental Health campaign
The I Stand Up for Mental Health campaign was created to take this message beyond the people who already know Grae Matta Foundation and bring it into everyday spaces.
Through a 30-second radio campaign, made possible through airtime provided by Bauer Media, we are asking people to consider what it means to stand up for mental health and what they can do with that belief.
The campaign directs people to istandupformentalhealth.org, where they can learn more about Grae Matta Foundation and choose how they want to support the work.
We also thought carefully about what should happen after someone heard those 30 seconds. The campaign website was designed around a straightforward journey: understand the message, discover how you can stand with us, learn more about the Foundation and take action. “Ways You Can Stand With Us” was deliberately placed at the centre of that journey because awareness should always have somewhere to lead.
The campaign launches around World Mental Health Day on 10 October, but the intention is much bigger than one day.
The radio may introduce the message. The campaign may start the conversation. But real change depends on what we do afterwards.
Standing up is personal, but change has to be collective
Mental health is often discussed as an individual responsibility: look after yourself, build resilience, ask for help and practise self-care.
Those things matter. But they cannot carry the responsibility alone.
If someone is struggling at university or in the workplace, the environment around them can make it easier to seek support or make the process even harder.
Organisations therefore have a responsibility to create environments where appropriate support exists, where people know how to access it and where mental health is considered within the way the organisation operates.
This is particularly important in higher education, where Grae Matta Foundation is working towards clearer standards around access to mental health services throughout a student’s journey.
One person speaking up can start a conversation. An organisation listening can change an experience. A system changing can affect thousands of people.
That is where individual action becomes collective change.
What does it truly mean to stand up for mental health?
It means making conversations easier to have.
It means listening when someone tells you they are struggling, challenging stigma when you encounter it and asking whether the support around us is genuinely accessible to the people who need it.
It means recognising that mental health belongs in conversations about leadership, education, workplaces, policy and the way organisations operate.
And it means understanding that you have a role to play.
You can start a conversation. You can check in on someone. You can challenge something that does not feel right. You can ask your university or workplace what support is available. You can share information, volunteer your time, support better standards or help an organisation working towards change.
Standing up does not have to be loud. It starts with being willing to notice, to listen and to act.
When enough people choose to do that, individual actions can become something much bigger.
A conversation can change a culture.
A culture can change an organisation.
An organisation can help change a system.
That is what we mean when we say:
I Stand Up for Mental Health.
How you can stand with us
You do not need to wait for the next awareness day to take action.
Start a conversation. Ask someone how they are and make space for an honest answer.
Challenge stigma. Speak up when mental health is dismissed, stereotyped or treated as something people should simply overcome.
Know your support systems. Find out what mental health support exists in your workplace, university or community, and make sure others know how to access it.
Support the work. Volunteer, partner with us, share our message or contribute to the work Grae Matta Foundation is doing to create better mental health standards.
And if you want to stand with us, visit istandupformentalhealth.org to find out how you can get involved.
Because standing up for mental health should not belong to one campaign, one organisation or one day.
It belongs to all of us.