With a shared vision for destigmatizing mental health in gaming, Take This and Riot Games launch a new program to provide career development support to individuals who believe in that vision.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month games and mental health non-profit Take This, with funding from Riot Games, launched a new initiative focused on bringing together early career professionals and providing education, mentorship, connection, and hands-on experience to people passionate about working at the intersection of games and mental health. The stigma around mental health is one of the largest barriers to getting access to care and that access becomes an even greater hurdle for individuals who are from communities that have often been underserved and overlooked. The Take This Accelerate Fellowship Program is designed to advance the quality of mental health research, game design, and community interaction within gaming spaces generally, as well as to serve individuals whose voices and presence may have been excluded from those spaces.
“I am so pleased that Riot shares our vision for building a community of professionals in games who are equipped with deep knowledge of both games and mental health, and who can contribute to meaningful shifts in how games are made and played,” said Eve Crevoshay, Executive Director at Take This. “We see so much opportunity for change with this project.”
The Accelerate Program, which will consist of 10 fellows and 5 mentors, will provide a wide variety of benefits over the six month program with curriculum topics including intersectionality, mental health advocacy, ethical design, and player safety. All topics will be rooted in equality and diversity as core values of the program. Fellows will attend workshops, develop professional skills, and build relationships that are essential to early-career growth. The goal of the program is to build a critical mass of ethically trained, knowledgeable people prepared to advance the work of building a gaming industry focused on digital thriving, prosocial interaction, and safety by design. Fellows will come out of the program with the necessary tools and skills to challenge the stigma and help improve the culture around mental health in gaming.
“We’ve been longtime admirers and supporters of the work that Take This is doing to provide mental health support to industry professionals, content creators, and gamers across the U.S.,” said Jeffrey Burrell, Head of Social Impact Riot Games. “With a shared vision for making the games industry a safe and welcoming place for all, we can’t wait to see all of the good these fellows will be able to do for players around the world after completing the Accelerate program.”
This isn’t the first time that Riot Games and Take This have joined forces on an initiative aimed at improving mental health in game spaces. Back in 2022, Riot provided Take This with grant funding to develop a free, first-of-its-kind mental health curriculum designed to meet the needs of casual and professional streamers. The program addressed both how streamers could support the mental health needs of their communities and how they could ensure their own wellbeing – something streamers have expressed they need now more than ever before. Through their continued partnership, Riot and Take This hope to help create a future where game developers are mental health-informed, game scholars conduct research that better inform policy decisions, and key voices in the games industry have the knowledge required to effectively and ethically advocate about mental health issues.
Applications for mentors are now open and applications for fellows will open on June 3rd. The first season of the Accelerate Program will officially kick off on September 16, 2024. If interested in applying for the Accelerate Program or want more information on the program visit www.takethis.org/accelerate/
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About Take This
Take This is dedicated to supporting players and developers by building healthy communities and a better game industry. We believe that healthier studios make better games and safer, more vibrant communities; and that more informed parents and players create safer and more positive player experiences. Take This works across the lifecycle of games, from studio formation, game development, through game launch and into game communities and online spaces around games, as well as with students and early career individuals interested in the intersection of games and mental health. The organization conducts research, provides training and consulting, and advocates for the wellbeing of game makers and players, and for healthy conversations about games, across a range of contexts.
About Riot Games
Riot Games was founded in 2006 to develop, publish, and support the most player-focused games in the world. In 2009, Riot released its debut title, League of Legends, which has gone on to be one of the most-played PC games in the world. In the years that followed, Riot released VALORANT, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, and League of Legends: Wild Rift. Riot’s titles have led to the creation of some of the most-watched and widely recognized esports in the world, culminating in events like the League of Legends World Championship and VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), which are watched by millions of fans each year. Riot has also expanded its IP through multimedia projects across music, comic books, board games, and Arcane, its Emmy-winning animated series.