The Code Green Campaign celebrates 2 year anniversary

SPOKANE, Wash. — Today marks two years since the beginning of The Code Green Campaign. The campaign celebrated its anniversary by reposting the rant on Facebook that started it all.

“As health care professionals, we should know that mental health problems are more common that most people realize and that millions of people with a mental health disorder function in society every day with no one knowing the wiser,” the post said. “How many of those people are our coworkers?”

After realizing how high the rate of mental health issues and suicide are among first responders, the founders of The Code Green Campaign started the project as a way to break the silence. The idea is to call a “code alert” on mental health to raise awareness of the issues that first responders face and to give them a platform to share their stories.

Another goal of The Code Green campaign is to educate first responders on how to recognize and provide care for themselves and others to reduce depression, substance abuse and suicide.

Since The Code Green Campaign was founded, the organization has educated thousands about mental health through social media, mental health resource cards and more than 360 stories written by first responders about their own issues.