About Us
JED is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. We’re partnering with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. We’re equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. We’re encouraging community awareness, understanding and action for young adult mental health.
Our History
In 1998, we lost our youngest son Jed to suicide. Since then, we have worked to understand this unendurable tragedy. Although suicide was and continues to be a leading cause of death among young adults, schools had no uniform model for preventing suicide on campus. Communities struggled to overcome the shame and secrecy that prevented honest discussion of mental health. Campus prevention programs were limited in scope and priority. In 2000, we founded The Jed Foundation (JED) to surmount these hurdles and launch a blueprint for prevention. Today, JED is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to young adult mental health. We thank our friends, partners and supporters for making this possible. We thank all of you who have accompanied us on this journey from loss to hope. Your commitment to protecting the lives of young people is transforming the conversation around mental health and mobilizing communities to action. Together we are helping students navigate the emotional challenges of college, prepare for adulthood, and thrive. -Donna & Phil Satow
Our Vision
We envision a future where:
- Every high school and college has a comprehensive system that supports emotional health and reduces the risks of substance misuse and suicide.
- All teens and young adults are equipped to navigate mental health challenges, to seek and give help, and emotionally prepared to enter adulthood and fulfill their potential.
- Our communities support the emotional well-being and mental health of teens and young adults.
- Mental health is recognized as part of general health and wellness and is not associated with shame, secrecy or prejudice.
Our Impact
In just the last year we have...
HELPED SCHOOLS IMPLEMENT SAFETY NETS
- More than 3,000 high schools, colleges and universities have strengthened their safety nets for students by using at least one resource from JED
- Over 270 colleges representing nearly 3,000,000 students are participating in JED Campus, working with JED to improve their mental health, substance misuse and suicide prevention programming
- JED educated over 7,000 college, high school, and other mental health professionals in suicide prevention through conference presentations and webinars
- More than 1,600 colleges and universities utilize JED’s ULifeline.org online resource center to provide students with information about mental health and how to seek help
EQUIPPED AND EMPOWERED YOUNG ADULTS
- Our national campaign, Seize The Awkward, encourages teens and young adults to start a conversation with a friend who may be struggling with mental health issues. This partnership with Ad Council and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention provides a series of videos that have exceeded 21 million views.
- JED’s anonymous mental health self-evaluator was used by over 30,000 students to assess their symptoms and receive customized information about how to seek help
- Over one million people are better informed and prepared to care for their mental health, or a loved one, because of information from JED’s online resource centers
- JED meets young adults where they are, with nearly 450,000 engagements with JED content through social media