What is #QuietingTheSilence?
For the longest time, nobody in the Jewish community wanted to talk about the issues of substance abuse and mental health. A sense of shame and denial persisted when it came to addiction, depression and other personal struggles. And while people have begun to open up and start conversations, a stigma remains when it comes to talking about it. Too many of those who are affected — whether personally or through a loved one — live in denial or are simply too ashamed to seek help.
Our goal is to eliminate the stigma — and quiet the silence — surrounding substance abuse and mental health and to encourage people to ask for help when they need it.
Example Programs
Example Programs
Example Programs
The Blue Dove Foundation created #QuietingTheSilence as a platform to help individuals and organizations create programs and events focusing on mental health and substance use. Our goal is to offer members of the community a chance to come together to share their own experiences in this arena.
We have found that hearing personal stories of struggles and loss directly from those living through them makes a stronger impact and helps foster new perspectives, personal connections, ideas, and hope. The stories come from individuals with a Jewish background who have gone through a life-changing experience, either personally or through a loved one. We hope by sharing them, we can show others with similar stories they are not alone. And we can begin to eliminate the shame and stigma many feel when it comes to mental illness and addiction. We know accomplishing that goal will take time. It isn’t easy to speak out publicly. At times people wish to remain anonymous. Ideally, everyone would be comfortable sharing his or her name, but not everybody is ready. That’s OK. Telling their stories at all is a start, and the more we talk more about these issues, the faster we’ll get there.- Program Planning Toolkit – Use this file to walk through all the details about setting a #QuietingTheSilence event. The Toolkit includes information regarding social media/marketing, suggested speakers, sample run of show, sample welcome text and more.
- Event Flyer Template – Use this PowerPoint template to customize an event flyer for your event. You’ll be able to add your organization’s logo, event details, and partner logos.
- Sample Videos
As you develop your event marketing plan, use the #QuietingTheSilence and tag @TheBlueDoveFoundation on Facebook and @BlueDoveFoundation on Instagram so we can help with event promotion!
#QuietingTheSilence: Personal Stories
