I was already familiar with Jewel\u2019s mental health advocacy because of my work. In 2023, I\u2019d enthusiastically participated in her Inspiring Children Foundation\u2019s \u201cNot Alone Challenge\u201d by making a video in support of the initiative.<\/p>\n
However, before accepting this summit invitation, I did what I always do when someone invites me to participate in something I\u2019m unfamiliar with: I Googled it to learn more about who\u2019s involved and who is funding the event. <\/p>\n
And then I said no, because I couldn\u2019t reconcile a summit dedicated to improving Americans\u2019 mental health with the political relationships of some of the people involved with it.<\/p>\n
The second annual Not Alone Summit<\/a>, scheduled for Nov. 2-4 in Las Vegas, highlights musical performances alongside mental health speakers and panels. This summit describes itself as a \u201cNational Convening for Mental Health and Connection\u201d and \u201ca collection of highly successful, purpose-driven individuals who come to heal, grow, and celebrate mental health.\u201d It features an awards show broadcast through iHeartRadio, and social opportunities for attendees like poker, pickleball, tennis, high tea and sauna access. <\/p>\n It\u2019s a lavish production. We know that money and influence shape our culture, so a high-profile event like this is an opportunity to challenge stigmas and advocate in front of a national audience. <\/p>\n But we also know that money and influence are political.<\/p>\n The summit website lists the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation as its major backer. Steven A. Cohen is a billionaire hedge fund manager and the owner of the New York Mets, who contributed a million dollars in support of Donald Trump<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n The website also highlights keynote speakers like Mike Tyson and founders like Logan Paul<\/a>, both of whom vocally support and frequently appear with Trump.<\/p>\n And then there is Jewel, who performed at Trump\u2019s inaugural ball last year, much to the disappointment of many of her longtime fans. <\/p>\n The first and second Trump administrations have repeatedly targeted immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, women and individuals in other marginalized communities, with language and policies that are cruel and harmful. Trump has repeatedly made vile and degrading comments about women, disabled people and immigrants, on the record and in public. He\u2019s also been accused of sexual assault<\/a> by numerous women.<\/p>\n The Trump administration is making mental health in America worse in so many ways, including immigration enforcement agencies separating families and killing American citizens; women losing the ability to make decisions about their own bodies and, therefore, their lives; people with disabilities facing cuts to federal programs that allow them to live independently; LGBTQ+ individuals\u2019 civil rights and access to medical care being under fire. <\/p>\n Mental health advocacy cannot exist in a vacuum. We cannot claim to care about people\u2019s well-being onstage while funding or lending legitimacy to political leadership that contributes to fear, instability and harm. <\/p>\n Courtesy of Rebecca Feinglos<\/p>\n My work around mental health, specifically grief, is inseparable from my values. Whose grief matters in America is a political question, and it\u2019s one I am unafraid to answer. I won\u2019t ignore that this administration mocks the grief of marginalized communities across this country. Their grief matters, too. <\/p>\n Still, I\u2019m not naive. I\u2019ve worked in government, for nonprofits and in advocacy. I understand that getting meaningful work done often depends on wealthy donors and influential leaders, regardless of their politics. Many of us will face opportunities to accept funding or recognition from individuals and organizations whose business practices, financial histories or political affiliations don\u2019t perfectly align with our own values. And I know that if everyone refused support from anyone with whom they disagreed, a lot of important work would never happen in this country.<\/p>\n I also don\u2019t doubt that many people involved with this summit genuinely care about mental health. Some have likely devoted enormous amounts of time, money and energy to helping others. But the good you do doesn\u2019t erase the harm caused by the people you choose to support or stand alongside.<\/p>\n I believe deeply in talking to people whose politics are different from mine. In fact, I used to organize conversations with that goal in mind. In graduate school, after Trump was elected in 2016, I started a series at the University of Chicago called \u201cAcross the Aisle.\u201d The premise was simple: We brought together law and public policy graduate students (including many future leaders in this country) who disagreed politically and gave them opportunities to talk to one another in small groups. <\/p>\n I believed then, and I still believe now, that we accomplish very little by surrounding ourselves exclusively with people who already agree with us. I don\u2019t regularly block people on social media because they disagree with me. (I only block the ones who threaten to rape and\/or kill me.) I have friends and family members whose political beliefs differ from mine. And I\u2019ve spent much of my professional life working in public policy, where getting anything meaningful accomplished usually requires sitting at the table with people who see the world very differently. I value uncomfortable conversations.<\/p>\n Jewel and I might have this belief in common. In a public apology<\/a> she posted on social media after performing at the 2025 \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d inaugural ball that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threw for Trump, Jewel shared, \u201cI really believe that the only way we change is… by being in relationship, by reaching out, by having hard conversations, and I really hope that we can push through our hurt and move toward understanding on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n Steven A. Cohen might also think similarly, given that his recent donation record includes Democratic candidates and organizations<\/a>. Those contributions, however, pale in comparison to the million dollars he gave at the beginning of the first Trump administration<\/a>. While I recognize that his political giving now extends across party lines, I don\u2019t believe his more recent donations diminish the significance of that million-dollar contribution, which I view as helping to embolden a president whose administration has caused immense harm to mental health in this country.<\/p>\n Mental health is not something we can claim to be \u201cboth sides\u201d about. If you\u2019ve aided in fueling the continued damage to Americans\u2019 mental health, you shouldn\u2019t congratulate yourself for putting a summit-sized band-aid on a wound that I have watched become deeper and more dangerous because of the current administration. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t believe we can meaningfully convene in support of people\u2019s mental health while ignoring the political conditions that are actively harming it. You can\u2019t give a million dollars to Trump or fraternize with RFK Jr. and Ivanka over the weekend, and then call yourself a mental health advocate onstage on Monday morning. If you\u2019re going to advocate for better mental health, I also want to hear you speak up explicitly about the consequences of the policies being advanced by the people you choose to associate with and\/or fund. Neither Steven A. Cohen nor Jewel has publicly addressed this administration\u2019s incredibly harmful policies toward mental health, and I find that hugely problematic.<\/p>\n In fact, I find the entire idea of a flashy mental health summit in Las Vegas, chaired and attended by people who support leaders in this mental-health-destroying administration, to be morally appalling. <\/p>\n \u201cI find the entire idea of a flashy mental health summit in Las Vegas, chaired and attended by people who support leaders in this mental-health-destroying administration, to be morally appalling.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead of just saying no to the summit invitation privately, I chose to post my response online because I wanted to highlight the contradiction publicly. I got a lot of support, but some people suggested I was approaching this all wrong, and that I should, instead, accept the invitation as an opportunity to challenge the people in the room.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s imagine that I fly to Las Vegas, play pickleball with Logan Paul, have some boundary-pushing conversations with Mike Tyson over cocktails, and I eventually take the stage to deliver a blistering critique of the administration\u2019s policies that impact mental health. Maybe I would change someone\u2019s mind. Maybe they would cut off my mic. Who knows? <\/p>\n But my name and face would have already appeared on the speaker lineup. My participation would have helped build the credibility and visibility of an event whose underlying premise is unacceptable to me. I would have contributed my time, expertise, audience and reputation to making it successful.<\/p>\n While I believe that change can happen when we get a seat at the table, sometimes your presence at the table is the thing that allows everyone else to feel better about themselves.<\/p>\n In this case, I wasn\u2019t invited to a private roundtable to debate the ethics of philanthropy or the relationship between government funding and mental health. I was invited to participate in a highly produced, publicly promoted celebration. If I\u2019m invited to a genuine conversation, I will be there. But I have no interest in helping an institution appear more compassionate while individuals associated with it empower policies that actively fight against this work. I can believe in the power of meaningful dialogue without offering my labor and credibility as a party favor to buttress an event\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve spent years asking people to take grief seriously and to understand that loss affects every aspect of how we show up in this world. I can\u2019t make that argument professionally and then pretend that the political conditions shaping those experiences are irrelevant when someone offers me a speaking opportunity that could get me more exposure. <\/p>\n It\u2019s tempting … and I\u2019m in a position to turn it down. <\/p>\n I recognize that I\u2019m fortunate to be in that position. Not everyone has that luxury right now. People need jobs, contracts, donors and professional relationships to survive. I\u2019m speaking particularly to people who have the privilege to make choices without risking their basic security. I believe that those of us who can afford to speak up, financially and professionally, have a moral responsibility to do so.<\/p>\n How can anyone \u2014 in 2026 \u2014 convene a ballroom full of influential people to talk about improving America\u2019s mental health without reckoning with what I believe to be the rampant political forces actively making people\u2019s lives more frightening, precarious and just plain worse? <\/p>\n We cannot let mental health become a meaningless buzzword. We all deserve better.<\/p>\n When asked for comment, a representative of Inspiring Children Foundation told HuffPost by email, \u201cSince its inception, Inspiring Children Foundation has been dedicated to advancing mental health and helping at-risk youth. The Not Alone Summit reflects that same commitment. Both the Foundation and the Summit are nonpartisan and exist solely to bring mental health resources to everyone who needs it.\u201d Mike Tyson\u2019s name was removed from the summit\u2019s website several days before the summit.<\/p>\n The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation declined to comment.<\/p>\n Rebecca Feinglos is a mental health advocate, former public policy adviser and founder of Grieve Leave<\/a>, a global grief education and advocacy organization. Her work spans policy, workplace culture and challenging societal expectations around loss. A returning HuffPost Personal contributor, her writing has also appeared in Time, Fortune and Oprah Daily. She is currently writing a memoir about death, divorce, and the losses we don\u2019t always recognize as grief.<\/p>\n Do you have a compelling personal story you\u2019d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we\u2019re looking for here<\/a> and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6ae23bf914000064a9e0190e.png\")
The author emceeing at the Grief and Motherhood event for Grieve Leave in October.<\/p>\n