Covering Mental Health

Create Your Own Story

In this final activity, you will have the opportunity to create your own front-page news story about a mental health issue facing Americans today.

Directions:

1. Choose an image in the carousel that shows the important role mental health services play in the treatment of individuals affected by drug addiction, homelessness, illness, unemployment, and gun violence.
2. Read two or three articles from reliable history websites that you have used before in class or your teacher recommends on the topic featured in the image.
3. Write a short summary on how lawmakers, advocates, or individuals and family members are helping to address the problem through mental health services.

As you write your article, keep the following in mind:

1. Length: 2–3 paragraphs.
2. Include basic facts (who, what, where, when, why, how).
3. Decide which news format you would like to use, newspaper or website.
4. Give your article a title and add a headline (a good headline catches the reader’s attention in some way).