May 2027
Mental Health Awareness Month 2027
Free media assets, exact color values, and the dates behind the month the US has marked every May since 1949.
The basics
Key things to know
A short orientation for anyone marking the month for the first time.
Green is the awareness color
The mental health awareness ribbon is green. No organization owns a standard shade or hex code, so this site publishes values you can copy, along with palette files for design tools. See the color values and what the green ribbon means.
It has run every May since 1949
Mental Health America started it, under its earlier name the National Association for Mental Health, and has led it every May since. The first campaign ran for a week before it grew to fill the month.
The week and the day are separate observances
Mental Health Awareness Week is a UK campaign run by the Mental Health Foundation, which also falls in May. World Mental Health Day is October 10, five months outside the US month. Neither one sits inside Mental Health Awareness Month, so do not plan them as a single campaign.
Anyone can take part
You do not need to be affiliated with an organization, trained, or invited. Schools, employers, clinics, libraries and county health departments all mark May, and everything on this site is free for any of them to use.
Media assets for Mental Health Awareness Month
Green ribbons, color palettes, social banners, printable posters and web badges. Free to download and use, with no account and no attribution required.
Browse the library- Green ribbon SVGs and PNGs
- Copy-and-paste hex codes
- Palette files for Adobe, Sass and GIMP
- Sized social banners and headers
- Printable posters and flyers
- Email signature and web badges
When things happen
Key dates
Three observances people mix up. They are run by different organizations in different countries, and only the first one is the US month.
- Mental Health Awareness MonthAll of May, every year, in the United States. Led by Mental Health America since 1949.
- Mental Health Awareness WeekA week in May in the United Kingdom, run by the Mental Health Foundation. The 2026 week ran May 11 to 17 on the theme of action. Dates for 2027 are usually confirmed in the autumn beforehand, so treat any 2027 date you see now as a guess.
- World Mental Health DayOctober 10, worldwide, every year. It is not part of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Take part
How to get involved
Post about it
Most people never hear that the month exists. Putting a graphic in front of your own network is how that changes, and our free assets make it a two-minute job.
Run something where you already are
A poster in a break room, a session at a staff meeting, a display in a school library. Employers and schools are the two places most people encounter mental health information at all, and neither needs a budget to do it.
Learn what to say
Several organizations offer free training in how to notice that someone is struggling and how to start the conversation. Most take under an hour and are open to anyone.
Support an organization
Crisis lines, helplines and community programs run largely on donations and volunteers. See where to give, or volunteer instead.
Who takes part
Participating organizations
A non-exhaustive list of established organizations that run campaigns, helplines or resources connected to the month.
Mental Health America
Started Mental Health Month in 1949 and has led it every May since. Publishes a free toolkit and a set of screening tools each year.
United StatesNAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
A grassroots organization with affiliates across the country. Runs the NAMI HelpLine on 1-800-950-6264, weekdays, for information and referrals.
United StatesSAMHSA
The federal agency for mental health and substance use. Runs the National Helpline on 1-800-662-4357, 24 hours a day, which refers callers to local treatment.
United StatesMental Health Foundation
Runs Mental Health Awareness Week each May across the UK, and picks the theme that most UK campaigns follow.
United KingdomNational Federation of Families
Launched the Green Ribbon Campaign in 2007, which is where the green ribbon as a formal awareness symbol comes from.
United StatesThe Jed Foundation
Works directly with high schools and universities on mental health and suicide prevention for teens and young adults.
United StatesActive Minds
Runs student-led mental health chapters on hundreds of campuses, with programming that clusters in May.
United StatesMental Health UK
Provides advice and support services across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
United KingdomWorld Health Organization
Sets the theme for World Mental Health Day on October 10 and publishes the global data most campaigns cite.
InternationalBefore you post
Safe messaging guidelines
How mental illness and suicide are described publicly has a measurable effect on people who are struggling. Established guidelines exist and they are short enough to read in a few minutes.
The points that come up most often: put the person before the diagnosis, so "a person with schizophrenia" rather than "a schizophrenic". Keep clinical words for clinical situations, so a tidy desk is not "so OCD". Include a crisis line whenever suicide is mentioned, describe help as effective, and leave out methods, locations and details of any death.
For the suicide-specific guidance, see Reporting on Suicide and SAVE. Every graphic on this site is built to follow them.