Washington Prime Group Partners with Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s On Our Sleeves® Movement to Bring Awareness to Childhood Mental Health

- Washington Prime Group’s KidX Clubs^® across the country will share free virtual resources to help families navigate important discussions around mental health

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability in adolescents, with one in five children living with a serious mental illness that interferes with everyday life. This fall, Washington Prime Group Inc. (NYSE: WPG) is supporting the On Our Sleeves^® movement, backed by the experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, to share important mental health resources with families and children, while encouraging broader conversations about children’s mental health.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s On Our Sleeves is a movement to transform children’s mental health through education, advocacy and research. Kids don’t wear their thoughts on their sleeves, so there is an unprecedented need for evidence-informed mental health resources and support for children. The mission of On Our Sleeves is to provide every community in America with free resources necessary for breaking child mental health stigmas and educating families and advocates – because no child or family should struggle alone.

The rate of youth suicide has increased by 58 percent in the past decade and has become the leading cause of death in youth ages 10-19. Washington Prime Group town centers are a source of support for families and children who may be struggling with mental health illness. Early intervention can, and does, save lives. The goal of this partnership is to break the stigma around mental illness, while providing valuable resources to communities across the country.

Starting in September, nearly 100 Washington Prime Group KidX Clubs^® across the country will share weekly emails with resources and activities created by the behavioral health experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to help educate families and children on important mental health and wellness topics. Messaging will center on relevant themes including:

• Back to school;
• Mental Health Awareness Week (Oct. 4-10);
• Bullying awareness;
• Gratitude and kindness; and
• Holiday stress.

“Childhood mental health is an often overlooked and vastly underfunded component of pediatric health and research,” said Niki Shafer, Senior Vice President of Outreach, Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Thanks to our collaboration with Washington Prime Group and their KidX Club^® program, we are continuing these meaningful conversations and providing free educational resources to families everywhere.”

To learn more about On Our Sleeves and to join the movement, please visit www.OnOurSleeves.org.

About Washington Prime Group

Washington Prime Group: National footprint with local flavor. With about 100 town centers throughout the US, we’re as American as apple pie. As a matter of fact, we are also as American as deep dish pizza in Chicago, Hawaiian poke salad, vegan spring rolls in Malibu, El Paso Tex-Mex, Maryland crab cakes, kimchi in Orange County, Memphis barbeque and a Kansas City porterhouse. Our well regarded infrastructure, from Hawaii to Connecticut, and pretty much everywhere else in between, allows our tenant and sponsor partners to benefit from the operating efficacy and economies of scale at a large national real estate company, alongside local management who possess comprehensive knowledge of the specific locale within which they reside. Washington Prime Group^® is a registered trademark of the Company. Learn more at www.washingtonprime.com.