Using partnerships to combat mental health stigma in the military

The U.S. has never fought so long with so many Service members experiencing more frequent, longer deployments. Of the 1.64 million Warriors deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as of late-2007, an estimated 31% have a psychological health condition or traumatic brain injury. In early 2009, the Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) launched the Real Warriors Campaign, a multimedia public education campaign to combat stigma associated with seeking mental health care within military and veteran communities. With the tagline “Real Warriors. Real Battles. Real Strengths,” the campaign features personal stories of those who have reached out for help to demonstrate that effective treatments are available and to educate Service members and families about resources available. In addition to traditional media and social media outreach, the campaign has disseminated information to target audiences through a grassroots partnership program. Through communication and collaboration with these organizations, the campaign offers the most relevant and up-to-date resources and provide partners with easy and effective outreach mechanisms. Partners include federal agencies, military organizations and programs, nonprofit organizations, advocacy organizations and local groups. A network of 24 partner organizations was established prior to the public launch of the campaign and after eight months had grown to 50 organizations that had promoted the campaign through 35 newsletters, blogs and announcements reaching over 784,000 individuals. Conference participants will receive one of the first debriefs from the Project Manager of the Real Warriors Campaign, lessons learned and best practices on developing a partnership program to communicate a public education campaign.