Lady Gaga plans to roll out her Born This Way Foundation’s teen mental health programme in schools across the United States.
The Million Reasons hitmaker co-founded the nonprofit alongside her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, back in 2011. And, teaming up with the National Council for Behavioral Health, the star plans to expand the peer-to-peer mental health programme, teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA), to 20 additional high schools across the U.S.
“With teen Mental Health First Aid, we like to say, it’s okay to not be okay,” the 33-year-old said onstage during her Lady Gaga Enigma show at the Park Theater, Las Vegas on Wednesday. “Sometimes when life gives you a million reasons to not want to stay, you need just one person that looks at you, listens to you, helps you get help and validates how you feel. Together, Born This Way and the National Council have put this programme in eight schools and soon it will be in 20 more.
“I know for certain that I’m not stopping here. I want the teen Mental Health First Aid programme in every school in this country.”
A representative from tMHFA told Rolling Stone the programme is “an in-person training for high school students in grades 10 to 12 to learn about mental illnesses, including how to identify and respond to a developing mental health or substance use problem among their peers.”
The Bad Romance singer has previously opened up about her struggles with mental health, admitting last October she “wishes there had been a system in place to protect and guide me”.