About Us

The Jed Foundation (JED) is a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. JED believes in a comprehensive, public health approach to promoting mental health and preventing suicide alongside mental health care as well as creating stronger support networks and safety nets.

For many of our nation’s teens and young adults, transitioning into adulthood is a time of significant changes and intense challenges.

• One in four young people experiences a mental health challenge each year, with issues like depression and anxiety acting as significant impediments to academic success for many students (SAMHSA, 2017).
• Despite all we’ve learned and the advances we’ve made, suicide rates have continued to rise over the past 15 years (CDC, 2018), and the rates of suicide among young people in the U.S. are increasing more quickly than the rates among older adults (CDC, 2017).

Our programs – grounded in our comprehensive, public health approach to mental health – help schools strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention efforts, equip teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other, and encourage community awareness, understanding and action for young adult mental health.

• JED’s mental health public service campaigns have reached more than 25 million people.
• Over one million people are better informed and prepared to care for their mental health, or that of a loved one, because of information from JED’s online resources.

JED in the News

Our team of experts in the field of mental health work every day to provide our perspectives and insights on many complex, sensitive, yet important topics. See below for a sampling of news stories and perspectives featuring JED’s mental health experts:

• As Suicide Rates Rise, College Students Band Together in Unprecedented Effort
  • Fox News – 2/20/19
  • Dr. Nance Roy, Chief Clinical Officer, was interviewed on camera discussing how peer-to-peer education can be used to generate a responsible discourse about using social media in a healthy way. The accompanying article also quoted Executive Director/CEO John MacPhee on the increasing use of social media among teens and JED parent Michael Zibilich on the importance of raising awareness of mental health.
• As Students Struggle With Stress and Depression, Colleges Act as Counselors
  • The New York Times – 2/21/19
  • Dr. Victor Schwartz, Chief Medical Officer, was quoted on how financial burdens can lead to anxiety among today’s college students.
• The One Word You Shouldn’t Say to Someone With Anxiety or Depression
  • HuffPost – 12/20/18
  • Dr. Victor Schwartz, Chief Medical Officer was quoted on how to properly speak to someone with anxiety or depression.  
• Father of Sandy Hook Victim Dies in Apparent Suicide
  • CBS This Morning – 3/26/19
  • Dr. Victor Schwartz, Chief Medical Officer, was interviewed on CBS This Morning discussing the importance of connecting a friend or a loved one facing a mental health issue with support services.

Resources for Journalists

If you are a journalist covering mental health, suicide, or JED, please review the below resources and information which we hope will be helpful to you in developing your story.

Covering Mental Health & Suicide

When sharing messages about mental health issues and suicide, it’s vital to do so in a safe and effective way. Media reporting on these issues can either encourage or discourage people from seeking help, and it can even influence suicide contagion. Click here for some resources, guidelines and quick tips to learn more about safe and effective messaging.

Covering JED

• JED Naming Convention: Please note that JED’s naming convention is to write “The Jed Foundation (JED)” (case sensitive) the first time the organization is referenced in a piece, and write “JED” (capitalizing J, E and D) for each subsequent mention.
• Reprint Guidelines: JED is pleased to grant access to original materials to organizations and professionals for the purpose of helping parents, students and community members support the mental health and emotional well-being of teens and young adults. Our reprint policy can be found here.
• JED Media Contact: If you would like more information about JED or would like to speak to one of our experts, please contact:

Manuela McDonough
Director of Media Relations
manuela@jedfoundation.org