DBSA BOARD CHAIR KENT DAUTEN SUPPORTS EFFORT TO DESTIGMATIZE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH WITH UNDERWRITING OF KEN BURNS DOCUMENTARY: “HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT”

Chicago, June 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact:                                                         

KEVIN WILLIAMS, DBSA
[email protected]
312.342.7693

(CHICAGO, June 27, 2022) – The youth mental health crisis in the U.S. continues to grow in scope, even as the country begins to turn the corner on the worst effects of the pandemic. The more we learn about the struggles young people experience in managing their mental health, the more important education and awareness become in the battle to fight stigma associated with youth mental health.

The Dauten Family Foundation, a private, Chicago-based foundation, has a deeply rooted history of philanthropy to support the health sciences. The foundation, managed by private equity fund investor Kent Dauten and his wife Elizabeth, has supported mental health research and educational programs at many organizations, including the Mayo Clinic, the Broad Institute, the Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.

This week, the foundation demonstrates another example of its commitment to mental health philanthropy as an underwriter of a new PBS documentary series, “Ken Burns Presents Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness,”  premiering June 27 and 28 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide and streaming on PBS free video on demand.  Check local listings, as times may vary in certain TV markets. Chicago PBS station WTTW is airing the program at 9 p.m. Central Time.  

The four-hour series follows more than 20 young Americans from all walks of life who describe their experiences with mental health conditions. It features first-person accounts from young people who open up about everything from experiencing visual and audio hallucinations since childhood, to battling substance use disorder in the family, to waking up in a psych ward and being hospitalized after a particularly stressful period of life, and so much more. 

“When you consider suicide as the leading cause of death among young people ages 10-34, and that more than one in three high school students experienced poor mental health during the pandemic, you get a sense of how profound our mental health crisis is today,” said Kent Dauten. “The Dauten Family Foundation is proud to support the important Ken Burns documentary ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ and hopes it encourages more discussions around how we can eliminate stigma in youth mental health.”

# # #