At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, society acted to secure physical safety and health — including physical distancing, staying home, and shuttering businesses and schools. At the same time simmering in the background was a mental health crisis that has begun to bubble over. 

Mental health has moved from a topic often viewed as private, to emerging as front-page news and as a focus in the business world. However, it isn’t just siloed to an “adult” issue, instead, we’ve learned that that lessons of mental wellness start in the classroom. We’ve seen companies prioritize it in their corporate social responsibility initiatives to make a deeper impact with their surrounding stakeholders. In fact, data from the World Health Organization shows that depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion dollars each year in lost productivity. And for every dollar invested in mental health treatment, there is a $4 return on investment.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but there needs to be a starting place to help combat the mental health crisis proactively. Now is the time to act, and corporations have a role to play alongside nonprofits and educational institutions to help set a foundation early on.

In this research white paper, you will learn: 

1. The current state of mental health education at a K-12 level
2. The value of mental health education and the ROI of this type of education
3. Insightful data points to help understand comprehensive solutions
4. Impact of community engagement education in different states