UMatter Weeks are designed to promote positive school environments by focusing on mental health awareness and the importance of peer support. UMatter is a Friendship Circle program now being offered in partnership with Defeat the Label.

With support from the Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety, UMatter empowers teens to recognize peers who may be struggling with isolation and encourages them to seek help. The goal is to show that mental health is just as important as physical health, while fostering a supportive and inclusive school culture.

We’d love to help your school host its own UMatter Week! For any questions or more information, schools can email us at umatter@defeatthelabel.org.

Here are a few key details:

We’re excited to work with you to create a meaningful and impactful UMatter Week at your school!

We’d love to hear how your school celebrated UMatter Week! Please submit your feedback after your event to share.

At AKFSA, our mission is to educate social anxiety sufferers, mental health and educational professionals, physicians, family and the general public about the diagnosis and treatment of social anxiety disorder. We seek to partner with like-minded organizations to make a significant impact on those who suffer, their families and the professionals who provide treatment.

Andrew Kukes’s eight year battle with severe depression ended on July 14, 2009 when he took his own life at only 30-years-old. Andy suffered from social anxiety and the common co-occurring condition of depression, brought on by this little known and often misunderstood disorder, for the majority of his young adult life.

The Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety was founded by Andy’s parents, Patricia Kukes and Jeffrey Kukes, with the hope that with proper education, awareness and support, other families will benefit and be saved from the pain caused by the loss of a loved one, and that those who suffer from social anxiety can find balance and peace in their lives.