DMAX Foundation Joins Mental Health for US Coalition

It is imminent that politicians recognize the value of young voters in the upcoming 2020 presidential election, and how important it is that their voices are heard. Currently, there is a growing mental health crisis across college campuses nationwide. According to a survey conducted by the American College Health Association, 63% of college students surveyed have felt very lonely over the previous 12 months, 62% have felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety, 42% have felt so depressed they found it difficult to function, and over 11% have seriously contemplated suicide. Nearly half of college students don’t tell anyone about their struggles.

These statistics are staggering, and there needs to be a change. Policymakers often do not push for enough legislation about mental health in college students. Instead, they focus on other policies, leaving mental health issues out of the conversation. To address these concerns, mental health foundations and organizations from across the country are partnering together to fight for mental health awareness through the Mental Health for Us coalition. The goal of this coalition is to target policymakers about the mental health crisis that is occurring throughout our nation, with the hope that more policymakers will pass legislation dealing with mental health issues. DMAX Foundation is thrilled to announce our partnership with the Mental Health for Us coalition.

DMAX Foundation is focused on establishing DMAX Clubs on college campuses where students connect and have Conversations That Matter® to strengthen mental health and emotional well being without judgment. This allows students to realize they are not alone in their struggles. As a member of the coalition, DMAX Foundation emphasizes the need for the 2020 presidential election to recognize and support the cause of Conversations That Matter® for the mental health of young people.

For more information about the Mental Health for US coalition, visit our website: https://www.dmaxfoundation.org/dmax-foundation-joins-the-mental-health-for-us-coalition/

About DMAX Foundation

DMAX Foundation is a developing non-profit organization with local roots in Radnor, Pa.

Laurie and Lee Maxwell lost their beloved 18 year old son Dan to suicide when his inner pain became too great for him to bear.

Dan had been plagued with mental and emotional pain for eighteen months, without relief, before he took his life. He tried to get better in every way possible. For 18 months preceding Dan’s passing, he and his family saw physicians, psychiatrists, and psychologists, tried medications and dietary changes, and conducted tireless research. One thing the Maxwells were not able to do is speak out. It was too difficult to confide in friends and relatives about what was happening inside their family.

Though their hearts will forever be broken, the Maxwells vowed to turn their and Dan’s tragic journey toward helping countless other families and particularly young people who suffer in silence. Dan’s gift to us all will be to inspire communities to support and embrace those in need so that no one will have to bear such pain, confusion and uncertainty in isolation again.

Thus, the DMAX Foundation was founded to eliminate stigma and encourage safe and caring conversations about mental and emotional issues in our youth.

• We are creating Conversations That Matter and speaking up to combat stigma and negative stereotypes. We are helping friends and family increase understanding and demonstrate compassion for youth suffering from mental or emotional pain.

• DMAX Foundation is starting DMAX Clubs on college campuses. Clubs are environments for all students to get together and talk about how they are doing, how their friends are doing and how they can help each other. The clubs help reduce the sense of isolation and hopelessness for students going through tough times by fostering the recognition that mental health issues should not separate “us versus them” and that all of us occupy a place on the continuous spectrum of mental health. We are all in this together.

The foundation was named after Dan, a 3-sport athlete whose his teammates called him “DMAX.”

Together we light the darkness.