In a renewed effort to engage as many Minnesotans in our advocacy work as possible in 2026, this year the Mental Health Legislative Network is hosting “Mental Health Advocacy Week” at the Capitol!!

WHEN: Monday, March 23 to Thursday, March 26, 2026, concluding with a rally at the State Capitol on March 26

WHERE: Minnesota State Capitol (and across the state of Minnesota!!)

Here’s how it will work:

Signing Up: Anyone interested in participating in Mental Health Advocacy Week can register using this online form. On the form, you’ll be able to indicate how you plan to participate, including meeting with your legislators, attending the rally at the State Capitol on March 26, or even holding a mini event or rally right in your own city or town!!

Learning About the Issues: A policy briefing for everyone who registers will be held remotely via Zoom the week prior to the rally (tentative date: March 19). That briefing will be recorded as well for those unable to attend live. The briefing will cover MHLN’s legislative priorities for 2026, current issues and bills being discussed, and tips for how to connect with your legislators.

Meeting with Legislators: When you sign up to participate, you can either let us know your legislative district or just provide your address and we can look it up for you. Meetings with legislators will be scheduled in-person and remotely as needed for the week of March 23-26 for registered attendees. For those who attend the rally in person, support for in-person meetings will be provided, and we will do our best to support remote meetings with an MHLN member attending as much as possible..

Rally at the State Capitol: Mental Health Advocacy Week will conclude with a rally at the State Capitol Rotunda in Saint Paul on Thursday, March 26 at 11:00 AM. Bus transportation may be available for attendees coming in from Greater Minnesota, although we won’t know for certain what those routes will look like until we get a better sense of who is signing up/level of interest in transportation. For those unable to make the trip to Saint Paul that day, we are working on ways for folks to participate across the state as well by gathering in their own communities, so stay tuned for more on that!!

Finally, About This Year’s Theme:

Our theme this year, “Keep the Door Open for Mental Health Care”, emphasizes the importance of access to mental health and substance use treatment, care, services and support. Please join us to make your voice heard during Mental Health Advocacy Week 2026 and share this important message with legislators!