One in five Danes will have a mental health problem over the course of a year. In Denmark, it is estimated that approximately 500,000 people are affected by mental health problems and many among them have more than one diagnosis.
For most people, mental illness is temporary and they will get well again. For others, the illness is recurring or a long drawn-out problem. No matter what, they are all one of us.
But many of us don’t know enough about mental illness, which is one of the reasons why there are so many prejudices about people with mental illnesses. In fact, it can happen to anyone, deliberately or not, to exclude people who have or have had a mental illness. Knowledge and good advice about how to meet people with mental illness can change this behaviour and that is exactly what the campaign ONE OF US is about.
What does stigmatisation mean?
The word stigma means a mark of disgrace or disapproval that is attributed to a person who, as a consequence, is set apart from others. Labelling someone because of mental illness may have severe consequences. The pain of not being part of society makes a person more vulnerable and the illness becomes even harder to endure, which can prevent the pursuit of a meaningful life. It can also inhibit people from seeking treatment in time. And that is costly, for the individual and for the society.
Our purpose
ONE OF US’ purpose is to reduce the stigma related to mental illness in Denmark. Our vision is a society where there is no more discrimination and exclusion of people who have or have had a mental illness. “No more silence, doubt and taboo about mental illness” summarizes our determination.
Specifically, the campaign works to:
The campaign ONE OF US
The Danish campaign ONE OF US was officially launched on September 19th 2011 and will continue up to 2020. The initiative began with a nationwide campaign including regional and local activities.
The campaign focuses on five main themes, whose target groups are service users and relatives, young people and professionals working with them, the workplace, staff in health and social services, the media and the general public.
Become a volunteer
An important part of the campaign is the involvement of volunteers who have or have had a mental illness and their relatives, and are active in organisations for service users and their relatives. Among our volunteers there are also service users’ work supervisors and colleagues, students, politicians etc. In fact, volunteers from all walks of life are welcome as every possible resource is needed if we want the ONE OF US campaign to succeed.
International network
ONE OF US is part of The Global Anti-Stigma Alliance (GASA), an international network of national campaigns against stigma. The aim of the network is for the members to share knowledge, evidence, materials and best practices.
The ONE OF US organisation
Behind the ONE OF US campaign is a strong network formed in 2010 by the following organisations: The Danish Health Authority, TrygFonden, Danish Regions, The Danish Mental Health Fund, The National Board of Social Services, The Psychiatry Network, KL and The Danish Committee for Health Education.
In addition, a resource group has been formed for each of the five main themes consisting of representatives from groups of service users and their relatives, professional societies, professionals and Denmark’s regional psychiatric information centres.
The campaign is managed nationally by the ONE OF US’ secretariat, located in Copenhagen, and regional coordination groups have been formed to ensure local support.