The Kids Mental Health Foundation Partners with Filmmaker Soleil Moon Frye to Launch Documentary Short and National PSA Featuring Celebrity Voices for Mental Health Awareness Month

New Campaign Brings Together Celebrity Advocates to Spark Urgent National Conversation Around Children’s Mental Health

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, The Kids Mental Health Foundation is launching a powerful new awareness campaign, “Kids’ Mental Health Starts with Us”, for May’s Mental Health Awareness Month, led by acclaimed filmmaker and advocate Soleil Moon Frye. 

This initiative includes a documentary short and national PSA that combines the reach of celebrity voices with cinematic storytelling to share authentic conversations around kids' mental health and create lasting impact for families across the country.

The “Kids’ Mental Health Starts with Us” awareness campaign brings together Malin Akerman, David & Christina Arquette, Lance Bass & Michael Turchin, Anna Cathcart, Jordan Chiles, Corey Conrad & Angel Carter Conrad, Alexandra Daddario, Tyler Davis, Troy Garity, Lucy Hale, Oliver Hudson, Raymond Lee, Lisa Ling, and Christian Ramirez to normalize dialogue around mental health and encourage families to talk openly, access The Kids Mental Health Foundation’s free resources, and support one another—helping to ensure that no child feels alone in navigating emotional challenges. 

The Kids Mental Health Foundation partnered with Frye to lead this initiative because of her longstanding mental health advocacy and her track record as a documentarian. Frye has a rare ability to tell intimate, emotionally honest stories, as seen through her films, including Kid 90 and The Carters: Hurts to Love You, and her expertise in exploring complex and personal experiences with nuance and compassion.

“Kids’ Mental Health Starts with Us” is transformed from a traditional awareness campaign into a storytelling-driven movement. The documentary short and PSA capture authentic conversations and lived experiences that underscore why addressing children’s mental health feels especially urgent right now.

“This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re raising our collective voices for support around children’s mental health. At a moment when kids are facing unprecedented stressors, normalizing conversations around mental health is transformative. We want adults to know that they have the power to promote every child’s mental wellness,” said Ariana Hoet, PhD, executive clinical director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation. “We hope this documentary short and PSA inspire families to talk, connect, and ensure children feel supported. We’re especially thankful to Soleil Moon Frye, whose creative vision and authenticity elevated “Kids’ Mental Health Starts with Us” into something that truly resonates.”

“I am truly honored to be working with The Kids Mental Health Foundation, a cause that is very close to my heart. As a filmmaker, a parent, and someone who cares deeply about mental health awareness, this campaign is incredibly meaningful to me,” said Soleil Moon Frye, Director of Kids’ Mental Health Starts With Us. “I am so grateful to everyone who participated in this. Over the years, the extraordinary team at KMHF has become like family, and together I believe we can inspire more open dialogue around children’s mental health while expanding awareness of the resources and support every child and family deserves.

The documentary short and PSA will roll out nationally in advance of and throughout Mental Health Awareness Month in May 2026 and drive families to KMHF’s free, evidence-based resources, equipping them with the tools they need to start conversations, reduce stigma, and build resilience. 

The documentary short and PSA will live across KMHF’s platforms, and for the third consecutive year, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) is partnering to coordinate in-kind national TV and radio airplay. Since July 2024, the Yellow Couch series has aired across more than 2,300 outlets.

About The Kids Mental Health Foundation

The Kids Mental Health Foundation is the leading organization promoting mental health for children in the United States. To achieve its vision to build a world where mental health is a vital part of every child’s upbringing, nearly 1,000 mental health professionals and researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in partnership with other trusted experts, provide real-world knowledge and expertise to power the Foundation’s free educational videos, guides and curriculum. To date, more than 24 million people have engaged with the Foundation’s materials, helping parents, educators and coaches be a guiding force for children all across the United States. For more mental health and wellness resources, visit KidsMentalHealthFoundation.org

About Soleil Moon Frye 

Soleil Moon Frye is a multi-talented director, actor, producer, writer, and humanitarian who has made a lasting impact in television and film. Frye began her career as a child actor where she starred as Penelope “Punky” Brewster in the 1984 Primetime Emmy®–nominated sitcom PUNKY BREWSTER. She has since built a critically acclaimed career behind the camera as a filmmaker known for her raw, emotional, and empathetic storytelling. 

 Frye’s recent work includes the acclaimed documentaries KID 90 and THE CARTERS: HURTS TO LOVE YOU, which explore themes of mental health, identity, fame, and intergenerational trauma through deeply personal lenses. Up next, she is launching a documentary short and national PSA with the Kids Mental Health Foundation on May 1st called, KIDS MENTAL HEALTH STARTS WITH US for Mental Health Awareness Month. This initiative combines the reach of celebrity voices with cinematic storytelling to share authentic conversations around kids' mental health and create lasting impact for families across the country. Additionally, Frye’s latest documentary, WEREWOLF IN THE WAVES, is a heart-wrenching film about her childhood friend Seth Binzer (Crazy Town), who tragically lost his battle with addiction after filming was completed. 

 Beyond entertainment, Frye is deeply committed to philanthropy and advocacy and has long used her platform to raise awareness around mental health and emotional well-being.