{"id":7257,"date":"2014-12-16T10:50:47","date_gmt":"2014-12-16T15:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartsignblog.com\/blog\/?p=7257"},"modified":"2026-06-04T08:41:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:41:53","slug":"signs-stigma-free-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know those little signs you see around town that are attached to bigger signs? Like the Little League signs and the Rotary Club signs nailed to larger signs that proclaim the town\u2019s name?<\/p>\n

In Paramus, NJ, those little signs inspired a big idea.<\/p>\n

The idea is to install signs that read \u201cStigma-Free Zone.\u201d What they communicate is a commitment to eliminating the stigma associated with mental illness.<\/p>\n

\"stigma\"

Grand Rapids held an event to “Stomp Out Stigma.” From Steven Depolo<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2013, the community became an official Stigma-Free Zone\u00a0to inspire a new openness in discussing mental illness. The goals include educating people about\u00a0mental illness\u00a0and finding the necessary help for those who suffer. The new signs are meant to promote this initiative.<\/p>\n

It all started with the recognition of a crisis in our country. And clearly there is a crisis. We all remember the gunman whose mental illness led him to take innocent lives in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012. We’ll never know why he wasn’t treated<\/a>\u00a0beforehand. But is it possible he might have received help to prevent the tragedy if social stigma didn’t figure into decisions about his care?<\/p>\n

Robin Williams’ suicide was another shock that called attention to mental illness this past August. According to this article<\/a>, stigma may have prevented him from disclosing a diagnosis and receiving the right treatments. His daughter’s decision<\/a>\u00a0to come forward with a call to \u201cend the stigma\u201d also speaks volumes. Could this tragedy have been prevented, too?<\/p>\n

We’ve all heard other stories as well, or personally know someone who suffers from mental illness, like depression or anxiety or bipolar disorder. Are they also affected by the stigma? The Mayo Clinic lists the many ways stigma about mental illness can negatively affect people, including harassment, lack of health insurance coverage, decreased social opportunities, and a reluctance to seek treatment.<\/p>\n

None of these are outcomes we would wish on those we care about\u2014or anyone, for that matter. As the Newtown tragedy indicates, putting up barriers to treatment can have consequences for an entire community, a country, the world.<\/p>\n

Can a few little signs really impact such a big problem? The Stigma-Free Zone initiative isn\u2019t the first to believe in the power of signs. In every town, there\u2019s evidence that street signs can be used to communicate information and aid travel. There are even those who believe signs can be creatively used to curb violence<\/a> \u00a0and inspire joy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So far, 12 other towns in New Jersey\u2019s Bergen County are in on the Stigma-Free Zone initiative. Suppose a similar snowball effect brings \u201cStigma-Free Zone\u201d signs into those communities. And suppose when people see those signs, the momentum continues to build, bringing the initiative to more and more states all across the country.<\/p>\n

A more positive and pro-active perspective on mental illness could all start with a few little signs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You know those little signs you see around town that are attached to bigger signs? Like the Little League signs and the Rotary Club signs nailed to larger signs that proclaim the town\u2019s name? In Paramus, NJ, those little signs inspired a big idea. The idea is to install signs that read \u201cStigma-Free Zone.\u201d What […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":7258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"wpmdr_menu":0,"wpmdr_menu_extended":{"individualPostRemove":1,"individualPostRemoveDate":1,"individualPostRemoveAuthor":1,"individualPostYoastRemovePublished":1,"individualPostYoastRemoveModified":1},"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[451,455,453,452,454],"class_list":["post-7257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-illness","tag-paramus","tag-stigma","tag-stomp-out-stigma"],"yoast_head":"\nPositive signs promote stigma-free zone | SmartSign Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paramas, NJ is installing Stigma-Free Zone signs to fight stigma against mental illness.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone | SmartSign Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paramas, NJ is installing Stigma-Free Zone signs to fight stigma against mental illness.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SmartSign Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/SmartSign\/220245064667579\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-16T15:50:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T12:41:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Heather Schwartz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SmartSign\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SmartSign\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Heather Schwartz\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/560cf4648c4dc0fc432250f7e023908f\"},\"headline\":\"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-16T15:50:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-04T12:41:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":490,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"mental health\",\"mental illness\",\"paramus\",\"stigma\",\"stomp out stigma\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/\",\"name\":\"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone | SmartSign Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-16T15:50:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-04T12:41:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"Paramas, NJ is installing Stigma-Free Zone signs to fight stigma against mental illness.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":427,\"caption\":\"From Steven Depolo\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/signs-stigma-free-zone\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SmartSign Blog\",\"description\":\"Articles and resources on safety, security, and signs\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SmartSign\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/05\\\/smartsign-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/05\\\/smartsign-logo.png\",\"width\":188,\"height\":55,\"caption\":\"SmartSign\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pages\\\/SmartSign\\\/220245064667579\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/SmartSign\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.smartsign.com/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/560cf4648c4dc0fc432250f7e023908f\",\"name\":\"Heather Schwartz\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone | SmartSign Blog","description":"Paramas, NJ is installing Stigma-Free Zone signs to fight stigma against mental illness.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone | SmartSign Blog","og_description":"Paramas, NJ is installing Stigma-Free Zone signs to fight stigma against mental illness.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/","og_site_name":"SmartSign Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/SmartSign\/220245064667579","article_published_time":"2014-12-16T15:50:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-04T12:41:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":427,"url":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Heather Schwartz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SmartSign","twitter_site":"@SmartSign","twitter_misc":{"Written by":false,"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/"},"author":{"name":"Heather Schwartz","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/560cf4648c4dc0fc432250f7e023908f"},"headline":"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone","datePublished":"2014-12-16T15:50:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-04T12:41:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/"},"wordCount":490,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg","keywords":["mental health","mental illness","paramus","stigma","stomp out stigma"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/","url":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/","name":"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone | SmartSign Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg","datePublished":"2014-12-16T15:50:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-04T12:41:53+00:00","description":"Paramas, NJ is installing Stigma-Free Zone signs to fight stigma against mental illness.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/4630736058_1aec2423c8_z.jpg","width":640,"height":427,"caption":"From Steven Depolo"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/signs-stigma-free-zone\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Positive signs promote stigma-free zone"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/","name":"SmartSign Blog","description":"Articles and resources on safety, security, and signs","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#organization","name":"SmartSign","url":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/smartsign-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/smartsign-logo.png","width":188,"height":55,"caption":"SmartSign"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/SmartSign\/220245064667579","https:\/\/x.com\/SmartSign"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/560cf4648c4dc0fc432250f7e023908f","name":"Heather Schwartz"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7257"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12866,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7257\/revisions\/12866"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}