Snapchat has launched a new mental health support initiative, as part of World Mental Health Awareness Day, which will see the app team up with a range of celebrities on a new project called ‘Club Unity’, designed to raise awareness of key mental health issues.

As you can see in the introductory clip, the new initiative will bring together a range of celebrities, from different backgrounds, who’ll open up about their own mental health challenges, and encourage Snap users to take their own steps towards the same.

The initial focus of the project will see Club Unity address the need to increase support around the mental health and wellbeing of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth. 

As explained by Snap:

“As part of our inaugural year of Club Unity, we have begun amulti-year partnership with Active Minds, a mental health organization for students and young adults with a network of more than 800 campus chapters at colleges, universities, and high schools nationwide. Our partnership will support the expansion of Active Minds chapters at community colleges, HBCUs, and high-schools with the goal of reaching a larger number of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students.”

In addition to this, Snap will also host its first-everClub Unity Summit, where attendees will have the opportunity to become officially certified by Active Minds in “Validate, Appreciate, Refer”, in order to help support friends through challenges.

“Starting today, you can access a new suite of resources in Here For You, our in-app mental health resource hub that address ways to start tough conversations with friends, such as active listening tips, and daily affirmations. These resources are promoted to Snapchatters when they search common mental health terms like anxiety, depression, and stress on Snapchat, and are designed to be easily shared with close friends and family to help support one another through the highs and lows.”

It’s an important initiative, with various research reports underlining the impacts of social media usage on teens’ mental health, which have been compounded even further throughout the COVID pandemic. The ongoing lockdowns and restrictions have limited access to friends and other support resources, making it harder for people to maintain perspective. And when you also consider that Snapchat has reach to some 90% of 13-24 year-olds in the US, the relevance of this project on Snapchat in particular is clear.

Snap will release regular Club Unity updates, while users can access mental health support tools via its Here for You hub.