PRESS RELEASE: CCTT and Katz Amsterdam Foundation Launch “Part of Our Nature”

CCTT and Katz Amsterdam Foundation Launch “Part of Our Nature”

Nationwide Mental Health Awareness Campaign in Rural, Mountain Communities

TRUCKEE, Calif.—The Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee has partnered with the Katz Amsterdam Foundation to launch Part of Our Nature—a campaign to remove the stigma around mental health challenges and open access to local support and services. The multi-month campaign is in partnership with four other rural, mountain communities Whistler, British Columbia; Summit County, UT; Summit County, CO; and Crested Butte, CO. Through a creative strategy of powerful and humorous messages from animals, the campaign hopes to breach a difficult subject with familiar faces. Outreach will include GIFs, digital, print, and radio ads in both English and Spanish.

COVID-19 has illuminated and intensified the mental health issues many Americans struggle with. This is especially true for rural, mountain communities. According to a 2020 Behavioral Health Survey conducted before the COVID-19 outbreak in North Tahoe, CA by the Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee (CCTT) and Katz Amsterdam Foundation, 42% percent of respondents reported 3+ days of poor mental health in the past month versus the national average of 28%. On average mountain community, residents report poor mental health days at a 150% higher rate than the general American public. The numbers are even more stark when broken down by age, race, gender, and income group. In the mountain communities surveyed, 48% of very low income versus 28% of mid to high-income residents reported being lonely. Among the same respondents, 43% of residents ages 18-39 versus 13% of residents ages 65+ reported being lonely. 

“We know that mental health is a struggle for many of our residents in Tahoe Truckee and this is an issue that has only been exacerbated by COVID-19. There is a significant stigma around seeking mental health services,” said Community Collaborative of Tahoe Truckee Director Alison Schwedner. “Comedic relief is an innovative tool to break through to our neighbors who desperately need mental health services. We’re proud to be working with the Katz Amsterdam Foundation and our entire collaborative at CCTT to bring awareness to mental health resources and support in Tahoe Truckee during this difficult time.”