Every day, men across Massachusetts go to work, raise children, care for their families, and fulfill their responsibilities while struggling privately with depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, loneliness, grief, suicidal thoughts, and other mental-health challenges.

Too many suffer quietly.

Massachusetts has already recognized that men's mental health deserves specific attention. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health operates MassMen, an initiative designed to promote wellness and connect working-age men with mental-health resources. The Commonwealth also operates suicide-prevention programs, regional services, and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

These efforts provide an important foundation. I am asking Massachusetts to build upon that foundation with a broader and more visible statewide men's mental-health awareness campaign.

Men's mental health is about more than depression and suicide. Men can also experience domestic violence, emotional and verbal abuse, physical and sexual abuse, coercive control, financial abuse, substance-use problems, isolation, family breakdown, grief, and the pressures associated with providing for and caring for their families. Men experiencing these problems should know that asking for help does not diminish their strength or their value.

Domestic violence is also a significant issue across the Commonwealth. Massachusetts reported more than 26,000 domestic-violence incidents to law enforcement in 2024. Behind statistics like these are real people and families whose experiences deserve recognition, resources, and support.

I am calling on Massachusetts leaders and the Department of Public Health to expand statewide men's mental-health outreach by:

• Increasing public awareness of existing resources such as MassMen, the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line, and 988.
• Expanding outreach beyond workplaces and traditional mental-health settings into communities, schools and colleges, healthcare environments, gyms, community organizations, social media, and other places where men can be reached.
• Explicitly recognizing male survivors of domestic violence, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, coercive control, and financial abuse in men's mental-health outreach.
• Increasing education about depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use, loneliness, grief, suicide prevention, and other challenges affecting men.
• Encouraging men with lived experience to participate in awareness efforts so that other men can see that they are not alone.
• Providing families, friends, employers, educators, and community members with practical information for recognizing when a man may be struggling and helping him connect with appropriate support.

This is not about taking attention or resources away from anyone else. Mental-health advocacy is not a competition. It is about recognizing a population that can be difficult to reach and making sure men know where they can turn before a difficult situation becomes a crisis.

A man should not have to reach his breaking point before he believes he is allowed to ask for help.

Massachusetts already has the foundation. Now I am asking the Commonwealth to build upon it, expand its reach, and make men's mental health a visible statewide conversation.

Please sign this petition if you believe the men in our families and communities deserve to know that their struggles matter, support is available, and asking for help is a sign of strength.