Brian Wilson partners with mental health awareness campaign

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/18/brian-wilson-mental-health-awareness-campaign-to-change-direction

Version 0 of 1.

Brian Wilson has partnered with the Campaign to Change Direction, an initiative that aims to change the culture surrounding mental health awareness in the US. The founding Beach Boys member is due to perform a benefit concert and work on getting Americans to recognise the signs that someone they know may be suffering from mental health problems.

“My wife, Melinda, and I are very excited to be a part of this important campaign, not only to bring awareness to the mental health issues faced by millions of Americans, but also to encourage everyone to learn the five signs of emotional suffering,” Wilson said in a statement. “It’s time for us to bring the conversation of mental health in America out of the shadows, and the Campaign to Change Direction is leading the way.”

Related: The astonishing genius of Brian Wilson | Interview

The benefit concert is scheduled for 4 November at the Hyatt Regency Tysons Corner Center in Virginia and will raise money for Give an Hour, a non-profit organisation that provides free mental health support to war veterans.

Wilson’s collaboration with the Campaign to Change Direction arose after Barbara Van Dahlen, Give an Hour’s founder and president, watched the biopic Love & Mercy. She saw how Wilson’s own battle with mental health issues, as documented in the film, could serve as an inspiration to others – and as a cautionary tale for what can happen when mental health problems are not confronted but ignored.

“We still are struggling with exactly the same issues that prevented Brian from getting help,” Van Dahlen said to Rolling Stone. “When they don’t get help, they can begin abusing substances. That’s why we start upstream. You don’t wait until somebody is drinking themselves into oblivion.”

The campaign, launched in March, has identified personality change, agitation, withdrawal, poor self-care and hopelessness as five signs that someone may be struggling with their mental health. Wilson and his wife will be joined by members of Love & Mercy’s cast and production team in raising awareness of the five signs.

“By creating a shared mission to educate Americans about the signs of emotional suffering and using different tools and mediums to reach our audience,” Van Dahlen said, “we can encourage awareness, compassion and action to change the national conversation about mental health.”