California just picked a fight with stigma. And that matters more than most people realize.

I know I’ve said this before about men, but it’s worth saying again.

Men Are Dying in Silence.

Three of every four suicide deaths in America are men.
The rates are rising fastest among those 15 to 34.
Fewer than 30 percent of men seek therapy in any given year.

Boys and young men report record levels of loneliness and disconnection from school, work, and relationships. Some reach age 25 without a single close friend.

The message many boys still grow up hearing: don’t cry, don’t ask for help, don’t talk about feelings.

That script becomes a cell.

Silence becomes the story.

And stigma pours the concrete.

Good News From California!
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a first-of-its-kind executive order focused on young men’s and boys’ mental health. It names stigma as a target, not just symptoms.

Most state plans still treat men’s mental health as an afterthought, buried under broad youth or veteran initiatives. California’s move names men and boys as a specific group at risk, something no other state has done.

The order focuses on five pressure points:

• Expanding mental health access 🎉
• Increasing mentorship and volunteer opportunities 👦
• Creating job training and apprenticeships 💲
• Recruiting more men into teaching and counseling 💘
• Launching statewide messaging that challenges shame and silence 🎯

This is a plan built on belonging, not blame. Because disconnection is one of the most dangerous ingredients in the crisis.

Why This Is a Stigma Issue
Men don’t skip help because they’re fine. They skip it because they’re afraid of looking weak, being a burden, or being seen as the problem.

Stigma doesn’t just live in locker rooms, stadiums, or barbershops. It lives in how we fund care, write policies, and define our identity as men who are children of God.

When systems help men feel needed, not broken, help-seeking rises. Healing rises. That’s how stigma cracks.

This executive order acknowledges what therapy has known for decades: men heal through connection, purpose, and role, not pressure.

A Culture Shift We Need Everywhere
This isn’t just California’s story. It’s a blueprint for the country.
Mental health isn’t just treatment. It’s identity, community, and knowing you matter to someone.

Policies like this help normalize conversations that used to feel threatening. They give us new language to talk about struggle without shame.

If California can name stigma out loud, other states can follow. And so can we.

What You Can Do

Four small ways to fight stigma this week:

1. Ask a man in your life a real question: “What’s been heavy lately?”
2. Replace “man up” with “I’m here. Want to talk?”
3. Affirm that reaching out means strength, not failure.
4. Invite connection: grab coffee, go for a walk, watch the game together.

One text can save a life: “I’m in your corner. You don’t have to carry this alone.”

You’re Not Alone
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Your story isn’t over yet. It’s a semicolon, not a period. There is more to come;

Until next week, come back…be here.

Keith

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