The Shift Announces Talent Lineup For Its Mental Health Event

Fresh from its first successful mental health-focused Los Angeles event, The Shift, a digital platform led by a diverse, all-female executive team of impact producers, today announced that popular, multimedia and iHeart 103.5 KISS FM Morning Radio personality Paulina Roe will co-host The Shift Wellness Rally's Chicago virtual event with Adrienne Finch, a digital content creator and entrepreneur with a social media following of more than 1.2 million.

Finch's YouTube channel, Adrienne Finch, was born from her love of storytelling, filmmaking and desire to make videos that positively influence others. Roe is also the founder of GetYoMindRight, which provides free mental health services to the Pilsen community and aims to break the stigma surrounding mental health.

The Shift also announced that its guest lineup will feature the Honorable Lori E. Lightfoot, Chicago Mayor and First Lady Amy Eshleman who will help kick off the upcoming Chicago wellness rally with a welcome to Chicagoland youth on Saturday, May 15th that begins at 1p.m. CT. Mayor Lightfoot has made landmark investments in mental health including strengthening the city's five mental clinics and the 32 community-based, trauma-informed centers of care that provide services regardless of the ability to pay or immigration or insurance status. First Lady Eshleman's focus and passion is creating interest-driven, out-of-school opportunities for young people in Chicago and across the country, including My CHI. My Future. My CHI. My Future is Mayor Lightfoot's signature youth initiative designed to connect every young person in Chicago to meaningful experiences that align with their interests, passions and needs, including mental health and wellness resources.

"We all have an opportunity to start our own mental health conversation, no matter where we are in the journey. We created The Shift Wellness Rally event series to open up a user-generated localized dialogue about youth mental health, the impact that stigma has on each of us, and to gain access to our personal wellbeing together through community-driven stories, mental health tools and advocacy," said Maureen "Mo" Isern, co-CEO & co-founder of The Shift.

"We are deeply grateful to the generously authentic young people, presenters, partners, collaborators and supporters who are rallying together to help start these conversations. The Shift's commitment is to shine light on mental health and wellbeing in a way that provides young people with something different -- empowering youth advocates to be heard, enabling communities to be seen, and connecting them with tools and resources to try on with hopefully a little more ease" said Isern.

The Shift Wellness Rally event series features youth-driven round table talks, testimonials, tools and guided activities, and interactive surveys and polls. Content will connect audiences with resources, tool kits, strategies, and more from partner organizations. Community work started in the rallies will continue long after the rallies are completed, touching thousands of lives.

Register here to attend the virtual event.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020, the U.S. has been impacted by skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression and suicide among youth from early adolescence into young adulthood. May is nationally recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month and, during this time, advocates raise awareness of those living with mental or behavioral health issues and aim to shed light on the issues that so many people experience.

In response, The Shift is partnering with some of the leading national and local nonprofits organizations, schools, universities, policymakers, mental health experts and lived-experience influencers to launch a series of unique, interactive, youth-oriented virtual wellness rallies.