Take Action

There are many ways to promote acceptance and social inclusion. Get involved in an event or plan your own event, activity, or program. The SAMHSA ADS Center offers exciting and free training events throughout the year that can help you get started. You also can search our online library for resources and materials to help you. Here areother places that can help you promote social inclusion:

• Tips on Taking Action
• Organizing a Campaign or Program
• Planning Anti-stigma Events and Strategies

Tips on Taking Action

The following provide advice on promoting social inclusion and reducing discrimination:

• Developing A Stigma Reduction Initiative (and in PDF format) (Center for Mental Health Services)
• Challenging Stereotypes: An Action Guide (and in PDF format) (Center for Mental Health Services)
• How to Use the Media to Fight Stigma and Discrimination (National Mental Health Consumers' Self-help Clearinghouse) [PDF version]
  Also available in Spanish as Como Utilizar Los Medios Para Luchar El Estigma Y La Discrimination
  [PDF version]
• Partners in Recovery: Creating Successful Practitioner-Consumer Alliances (Center for Mental Health Services)
• Highlights of the Final Report of the Evaluation of the Elimination of Barriers Initiative (Center for Mental Health Services) [PDF]

Organizing a Campaign or Program

The following provide information and advice on organizing a campaign or program designed to promote acceptance, dignity, and social inclusion:

• Train the Trainer: A Beginner's Guide to Stamp Out Stigma (Stamp Out Stigma) [PDF Version]
• Successful Strategies for Recruiting, Training, and Utilizing Volunteers (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) [PDF version]

Planning Events and Strategies to Increase Social Inclusion

The following provide information and advice on planning events and educational strategies aimed at reducing discrimination and increasing social inclusion:

• Mental Health Anti-Stigma Walkathon Development Guide
• Organizing and Operating a Speakers' Bureau (National Mental Health Consumers' Self-help Clearinghouse) [PDF version]
• How to Develop a Consumer-run Newsletter (National Mental Health Consumers' Self-help Clearinghouse) [PDF version]