Silence The Shame is an initiative started in 2016 by music industry veteran Shanti Das. Shanti has suffered from depression over the years from her father’s suicide and has also experienced others close to her affected with mental health disorders. With Silence the Shame, she hopes to peel back the layers of shame and stigma as it relates to mental health. There are millions of people suffering and they are afraid to speak on it. It is also a lot that needs to happen in the form of educating people about treatment, support and care.
Shanti hopes to spark a national conversation that will lead to increased awareness and funding to support those living with mental health conditions.
The launch will kick off Friday, May 5th (May is National Mental Health awareness month) with Silence the Shame DAY, a global awareness campaign via social media from celebrities, Faith leaders, civic leaders, key influencers and the community at large. There will also be coverage via national press outlets and other digital media platforms. The goal is to get EVERYONE talking about how to #SilenceTheShame and to finally start a national conversation about removing stigma and shame around mental health.
On Saturday, May 6th in Atlanta, GA there will be a Silence The Shame Community Health Fair/Symposium at Jean Childs Young Middle School from 12pm-4pm. The event will consist of two (1) hour panel discussions with mental health care professionals, members of the Faith community and other community leaders to educate/create awareness around mental health, treatment, and the removal of stigma & shame. There will also be service providers on hand to answer questions and provide information about depression/anxiety, PTSD, postpartum, suicide prevention and other mental health disorders. Community partners for the event include: Grady Healthcare, Ebenezer Baptist Church and more.
Also on Sunday May 7th it will be Silence The Shame Day at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s former church and America’s freedom church). Other churches will be encouraged to talk about mental health on May 7th, to encourage the congregation to silence the shame in their homes and community about mental health.
