During Mental Health Week, the ABC is running groundbreaking TV and Radio programming encouraging all Australians to start talking about mental health, to seek support and to give money to fund research to find better mental health solutions.

In 2014 we worked with the Society for Mental Health Research and the ABC to help make the Mental As campaign a reality. The 2014 campaign raised over $1.5 million for Mental Health Research, with the funds awarded to Early Career Researchers in May of this year - we're very proud to have been part of that.

Mental ill-Health continues to have a wide and far-reaching impact in Australia. Did you know:

• Two thirds of those who experience mental illness have done so by age 21
• One quarter of those who experience depression or anxiety do so before age 12
• Suicide is a leading cause of death among these young Australians
• Middle aged men have the highest suicide rate
• Indigenous Australians have a higher rates of mental health illness than non-Indigenous Australians
• Mental health accounts for half of the disease burden for young people aged 16 to 24
• Only about one third of those with mental health disorders complete Year 12
• Productivity losses from mental health cost the Australian economy $5.9 billion annually
  
• Only one third of people with mental illness seek treatment, despite effective treatments existing.

This year we've again worked with the Society for Mental Health Research and the ABC on the 2015 Mental As campaign. This week's programming culminates with the Saturday Night Crack Up, which runs nationally at 7:30 tomorrow night, the 10th of October. A side note - if you haven't seen Changing Minds, catch it on iView. RIght through to the end of tomorrow night's show, the call for donations is open.

Here's what your donation could do:

• $40 will provide one hour of clinical treatment to a participant in a clinical research trial
• $100 will enable a research participant to gain access to an online clinical treatment research program
• $500 will cover the cost of a cutting-edge brain imaging scan to explore how the brain is affected in mental illness
• $750 will enable a young researcher to attend a major research conference to present their work and get input for treatment delivery
• $1500 will allow early career researchers to communicate their latest findings rapidly in open access journals, facilitating uptake by clinicians offering treatment to people with mental health problems.

All donations are tax deductible.

To donate:

• Visit the SMHR website
• Visit the ABC's Mental As website
• SMS MentalAs to 0455 021 021
• or call 1300 766 755