Our goal is to create a supportive culture where people with mental health conditions live openly and are valued. We connect people to care and support, build awareness, and fight to make mental health a public priority.
Founded in 1909, Mental Health America (MHA) – with more than 200 affiliates across the United States – is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all Americans.
MHA was established by former psychiatric patient Clifford W. Beers. During his stays in public and private institutions, Beers witnessed and was subjected to horrible abuse. From these experiences, Beers set into motion a reform movement that took shape as Mental Health America.
In the early 1950s, Mental Health America issued a call to asylums across the country for their discarded chains and shackles. On April 13, 1953, at the McShane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Md., MHA melted down these inhumane bindings and recast them into a sign of hope: The Mental Health Bell.