Each May, we honor our clients and community in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month. Since its inception over 70 years ago, it’s become a time for us to raise awareness, foster a deeper understanding of behavioral health, and break the stigma surrounding mental health challenges that so many of us face.
This year, we’re thrilled to mark the occasion by launching the Orange Door, a public awareness campaign aimed at shedding light on the critical role that SOUND Behavioral Health fills in King County.
The Orange Door campaign is derived from our logo, which symbolizes the powerful work SOUND has provided for nearly 60 years: a doorway to hope, healing and recovery for those that need it. As the doorway to transformative behavioral healthcare, SOUND serves 15,000 individuals each year and helps them take that first step through the door to a better future.
To bring this campaign to life, we’re installing seven life-size orange doors at iconic King County locations throughout the month, including the Bellevue Collection, Seattle’s Waterfront Park, Pike Place Market, the KEXP Gathering Space at Seattle Center, the University of Washington campus and more. These installations will serve as a reminder that help is just one step through a doorway away, and hopefully, ignite broader conversations around the importance of behavioral healthcare in King County.
The Orange Door comes at a critical time, with behavioral healthcare facing a crossroads in King County. We’re seeing a stark rise in mental health issues, substance abuse and of course, housing instability. As the need for our services grows, we’re also navigating risks to federal and state funding.
Now more than ever, we need our community to rally behind behavioral health. That includes individuals, businesses, and local leaders who believe in the power of behavioral healthcare. With your partnership, we can continue to meet the needs of our community.
I’d like to wrap up this important message with a heartfelt thank-you to our friends and partners who are participating in the Orange Door by allowing us to install one of our doors at your locations. I also want to express my deep gratitude to all who contributed their time, talent, and treasure to bringing this campaign to life. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Another special thanks to Fox 13 Seattle for featuring our Orange Door campaign on-air, KEXP for the opportunity to share our mission during their upcoming “Music Heals” Day and the ongoing on-air mentions, and lastly, KING 5 for helping us spread the word through daily commercials about the campaign. We are so appreciative to our community partners for supporting us in such a critical time.
Cllck the image below to watch our feature on Fox 13.
Each door reminds us that hope, healing and recovery is possible for anyone – and no one has to take that first step alone.
Sincerely,
Katrina Egner
SOUND President & CEO
At SOUND Behavioral Health, we are inspired when young people step up to make a difference in our community. A group of students from Mercer Island High School —Levi Jones, Ronan Buckley, and Connor Flume — have done just that with their initiative, 988 Find Your Peace.Through T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 988, these students are helping normalize conversations about mental health and letting their peers know that support is always available. All profits from their apparel go directly to SOUND, helping us provide critical counseling, crisis intervention, housing support, and recovery services throughout King County.
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When SOUND clinician Marlene Andrews began volunteering at the Sammamish Animal Sanctuary, she noticed something unexpected. The animals, many of them rescued or recovering from neglect, required patience and consistency to build trust – much like the people she supported in her work at SOUND Behavioral Health. That realization planted the seed for what would become SOUND’s Animal Sanctuary program. In partnership with the Sammamish Animal Sanctuary, SOUND’s program is now a thriving part of the organization’s Child and Family Services offerings.
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Just a few short weeks ago, SOUND Behavioral Health welcomed more than 400 community members, partners, and supporters to Fremont Studios for the annual SOUND of Hope Gala — an evening dedicated to expanding access to mental health and substance use services across King County.
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