Vague stories don't move people. The campaign "The Last Photo" by the charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) asked families of men who died by suicide to share the last photo taken of them before they died. The subtlety of smiling faces juxtaposed with the reality of death cut through the noise. The specificity of the "last photo" was more effective than a general warning about depression.

Always have a crisis plan ready.

If a survivor has a public breakdown, receives online harassment, or expresses suicidal ideation after your campaign:


Not all survivor stories are created equal, nor should they be. An irresponsible campaign can retraumatize the storyteller and desensitize the audience. Successful modern campaigns share three specific DNA strands: