INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis officials are highlighting a marketing campaign aimed at helping connect people to mental health resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and the City-County Council are highlighting the campaign to encourage people suffering from stress, anxiety, and uncertainty during the pandemic to connect with resources online.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our community in drastic and harmful ways, be it the shaking of the local economy, the straining of social ties, or the dangerous and fatal consequences of the virus itself,” Hogsett said in a press release. “Yet the mental health costs remain too often understated. This campaign is intended to raise awareness of the pandemic’s mental health toll and help residents at a critical time.”
Using $125,000 in CARES Act funding, materials in both English and Spanish have appeared across the following areas:
- Print ads in the Indianapolis Recorder
- Email advertising to Indianapolis Recorder subscribers
- Radio commercials on HOT 96.3 and LaGrande 105.1
- Nine billboards in targeted zip codes around the city
- Bus panel advertising on 14 IndyGo buses
- Paid search and social media ads
- Pandora and Spotify
- Geotargeted display ads through a local broadcasting company
- Rack cards distributed throughout the community
The campaign started on Dec. 15 and will run through Jan. 22, according to a press release from the city. It targets low-income and disproportionately underserved residents, especially African American males and Latinx populations.
“When talking about mental health is stigmatized, stress and anxiety can build up in unhealthy and dangerous ways,” Director of Community Violence Reduction Shonna Majors said in the release. “By connecting residents to needed resources, we can help destigmatize those conversations and improve the mental health of neighborhoods at large.”
City-County Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, R-District 18, is thanking his constituents who presented the idea and the mayor's for their collaboration.
“Far too often, those affected by mental health obstacles go unnoticed, whether it’s because they don't know where to go or how to express themselves, or don't want their peers to know they are struggling with mental health,” Hart said in the release.
