PBS Television Station WETA

This grant supports partial funding to the PBS television station WETA, based in Washington, DC, to produce a prime-time documentary series, Hiding in Plain Sight: Our Mental Health Crisis, with award-winner Ken Burns as executive producer.  

The two-part, four-hour documentary series follows 21 young people and their unique mental health journeys, giving them a platform to discuss their personal experiences with a variety of mental health challenges. The film also features experts, advocates, counselors, educators, and families and friends of these individuals to drive home the fact that people everywhere face these challenges and to ultimately provide a message of hope and resilience. 

 This series is a part of WETA’s Well Beings national campaign, which launched in July 2020 and addresses the health needs of Americans using public media. The campaign kicks off with the Youth Mental Health Project, consisting of original broadcast and digital content, featuring the documentary series. The Youth Mental Health Project holds a national tour consisting of community events, workshops, social media campaigns, and mental health resources for the public from project partners. 

This grant supports the Dana Education objective to empower people of all ages to use neuroscience in their everyday lives by strengthening their knowledge of the field’s real-world applications and ethical considerations through sustained informal education programs.