2021 is coming to a close which means it's time to reflect on the events of this year. This was Hope for the Day’s 10th year of starting the conversation around mental health and reminding people it’s ok not to be ok. Here’s a look at our 2021 statistics and some thoughts from the people behind them.

Our Education Department taught 4,869 individuals at over 200 different education sessions this year. Those sessions happened at schools, libraries, businesses and beyond. According to Hope for the Day’s Director of Education Allison Herman, the year was full of impactful conversations with fresh faces.

“We had a lot of really dynamic presentations this year,” Herman said. “I feel like a lot of people called us into spaces that we haven’t been in before which is really neat because I feel like we had really positive conversations and then positive change from those individuals.”

Hope for the Day also launched our newest education program, Identity & Orientation. The program discusses the unique intersection of LGBTQ+ experiences and mental health — built by LGBTQ+ people, for LGBTQ+ people.

Identity & Orientation and Project R.E.D. Team — our workshop designed by and for members of the military, first responders, and their families — are two of the programs that dive into specific intersections’ needs. 

These educations are one of the ways Hope for the Day provides people with the tools to understand their mental health and look out for those around them.

“I feel like Hope for the Day has elevated itself from we’re all aware, especially with the pandemic, of mental health, but now we’re actually building and giving people tools and that’s been really really cool,” Herman said.

Whether in person or over Zoom, we were able to provide education workshops across the country including the Chicago area, California, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and more.

Events also took us around the country. In total we attended 35 events in 13 states with our Marketing and Events Department. Through those events we were able to impact 24,000 people. The events ranged from music festivals to local street fairs and farmers markets.

“We try to meet people where they are not where we expect them to be so being able to make it to 13 states this year, even after being in a pandemic and things coming back so slow, has been really great,” Hope for the Day’s Marketing and Events Director Becca Milligan said.

Despite the unpredictability of the current pandemic, we continued to start the conversation wherever we could. For Milligan, it was just rewarding to be back in the community again.

“It was really nice to be out at events again and connecting with our community and the people who support our work,” Milligan said. “Hearing people’s stories and seeing the impact we have on attendees at the different festivals is always one of my favorite things and favorite parts of my job.”

At those 35 events, we handed out our resource cards with “It’s OK Not to Be OK” on one side and mental health resources on the other. Between the events and mailing out resource cards, 104,677 physical resources were distributed in 2021. 

For Impact and Grants Manager Don Neil, it’s meaningful “to know even that there’s 100,000 pieces of paper out there that just are reminding people ‘It’s OK Not to Be OK.’”

Some who received that resource card chose to take another step of support and donate to the organization. Hope for the Day is grateful to the 9,798 individuals who donated this year, including the 295 birthday fundraisers that were donated. 

According to Neil, it’s been amazing seeing those resource cards distributed turn into supporters, donors, and volunteers.

 “There’s a magic to it that’s been really rewarding to see over the past year,” Neil said.

Hope for the Day also saw support from our over 50 Partners in Prevention who brought our mental health education into their workplaces. Some of the industries we influenced this year include: Financial Services, Entertainment/Music, Mental Health, Insurance, and Dentistry.

That variety proves that no one is alone when struggling with mental health according to Tyler Wagner, a Manager of Partnership and Development at Hope for the Day,  

“When you step back and look at all the different industries we partnered with it really does show that it's not just one group of people that's struggling now or one group of people that’s experiencing mental health challenges,” Wagner said.

We kept the conversation around mental health going with 204 breweries in 30 states and 4 other countries that participated in the Things We Don’t Say IPA.

“This is a conversation that does belong in all spaces,” Wagner said.

We saw that conversation happen in 66 municipalities in 28 different states, including the entire state of Hawaii, who signed The National Suicide Prevention and Action Month Proclamation (N.S.P.A.M.P.) in 2021. The goal of the proclamation is to recognize suicide is an issue, raise the visibility of available suicide prevention resources, and encourage others to be available to those around them by learning how to discuss suicide without increasing the risk of harm.

According to Bev Schwartz, Assistant Director of Public Policy at Hope for the Day who headed the project, it’s been rewarding to see the number of cities that signed on.

“Connecting people to the resources and letting people know that there are things that can be done before the point of crisis and that we do care and that we’re here to help them, that’s always been the biggest thing that fills my cup,” Schwartz said.

On behalf of everyone at Hope for the Day, we thank you for your support throughout 2021. We look forward to continuing to break down the stigma around mental health with you in 2022. 

Remember, despite the things you’ve been through, It’s OK Not to Be OK. 
If you or a loved one are going through a mental health challenge or would like more information on available resources in your community, please visit Hope For The Day’s Resource Compass.