Born This Way Foundation was co-founded in 2011 by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, with the goal to support youth mental health and build a kinder, braver world; the Foundation aims to make kindness cool, validate the emotions of young people, and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health. In our mission to amplify young people’s voices and increase mental health awareness, Jack.org and Born This Way Foundation have created a free, digital, self-paced learning experience designed to increase mental health literacy and provide youth with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to safely support anyone–including themselves, who may be struggling with their mental health.
Over the past two years, the phrase “be there” has taken on a whole new meaning as the pandemic has stopped many of us from physically being there for others. I am sure it’s true for you as it has been for me that the simple phrase be there could break your heart, give you purpose, and make a difference in someone’s life. Given our collective experience the past two years and the Foundation celebrating its 10th anniversary this March, it is particularly profound that today we announce we’ve partnered with our friends at Jack.org to launch the Be There Certificate, a free, self-paced interactive online mental health course, available in English, French, and Spanish, designed with and for young people so they know how to support their friends, while also caring for their own mental health.
The Be There Certificate provides young people (and anyone) with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to safely support anyone who may be struggling with their mental health. Specifically, it guides through Be There’s 5 Golden Rules — a simple and actionable framework on how to recognize when someone might be struggling with their mental health, your role in supporting that person, and how to connect them to the help they deserve.
We invite you to get certified and share it with your community. More details below:
- Get Certified: We are inviting you and your organization to encourage your colleagues to get certified by going through the training at BeThereCertificate.org, and for each employee to invite the young people in their lives to do the same
- Share on social using this toolkit and you can find a full gallery of Be There Certificate graphics in this album.
- Forward this note to a friend and members of your community to help spread the word
For me, the Be There Certificate was built with the deep understanding that we are responsible to and for one another, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share this with you.
We’d also love to learn more about how we can offer the Be There Certificate to your network and partner to help meet our shared vision of building a kinder, braver world!