New York, NY – July 21, 2022 – Hope for Depression Research Foundation’s Week of Hope will return this year and launch on Wednesday, July 27 at 11 am in Southampton Village, New York outside of AKRIS (52 Jobs Ln., Southampton, NY 11968).

Over 50 local business owners including Douglas Elliman, J. McLaughlin and Michael Kors will display two-foot-wide environmentally safe and reusable bright yellow statement balloons at their front doors, symbolizing hope and their unwavering commitment to raising mental health and depression awareness.

The Week of Hope was created by Southampton resident Audrey Gruss’ Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF,) a leading non-profit dedicated to fighting depression through research and education.  The launch will be hosted by Mrs. Gruss and Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren.

“Our Southampton community has always had its finger on the pulse of important issues facing our world,” said Mayor Warren. “Mental health is at the top of our national cultural conversation, and we are proud to partner with Hope for Depression Research Foundation to further awareness.”

The Week of Hope started in 2018 to herald HDRF’s signature summer event, the Race of Hope 5K to Defeat Depression. The campaign was quickly embraced by the shops throughout the Village, but has been on hiatus ever since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.  It now returns to Southampton from July 27 through August 6, with the Race of Hope slated for Sunday, August 7 around Lake Agawam.  Audrey Gruss is a Co-Grand Marshal of the Race with HDRF Board member and East Hampton resident Arthur Dunnam. 

Audrey Gruss said: “We are thrilled and gratified to see Southampton Village once again embrace the Week of Hope as we emerge from the pandemic.   Mental health awareness has become more important than ever, and HDRF has a long track record of leadership in this arena.” 

Gruss pointed out recent studies showing that two in five American adults report symptoms of anxiety and depression since the pandemic. Studies also show that over forty percent of teenagers struggle with constant sadness and hopelessness, and these staggering statistics seem to only be going up.

On Sunday, August 7^th, the last day of the Week of Hope, Audrey Gruss, Arthur Dunnam, and Celebrity Grand Marshal Candace Bushnell will lead the seventh annual Race of Hope around Lake Agawam at 8:30 AM. The race attracts over 500 participants from the tri-state area and beyond to unite as a community and raise mental health awareness and fund depression research. 100% of proceeds from the Race will fund groundbreaking research into the root causes of depression in the brain and new and better treatments. To sign up or learn more, please visit the website at hopefordepression.org.

The Week of Hope, in conjunction with the Race of Hope, has helped to raise over $1 million for advanced depression research.  The Race is supported by localresidents including Janna Bullock, Arthur Dunnam and Roy Cohen, Alan Glatt, Jamee and Peter Gregory, Mai Hallingby Harrison, Kim Heirston, Tania Higgins, Natasha Jeffries, Leonard and Judy Lauder, Sharon and John Loeb, Jr., Anne and Jacques Nordeman, Kathy Prounis, Hilary Geary Ross, Nancy Silverman, and Lis Waterman.

Week of Hope participating business owners to date: 

Aboff’s paint, Aerin, AKRIS, Aloof Icon, Arthur Kalafer Fine Art, AT&T. Bean2tween, Breezin Up, Catena’s Inc Food Market, Chamber of Commerce, Cheese Shoppe, Corwin Jewelers, Douglas Elliman, Egg New York, Ever After, Fowler’s Garden Center, Frances Valentine, Geary Gubbins Sports, Golden Pear, Herrick Hardware, Hidden Gem, Hildreth’s, J. McLaughlin, Jennifer Miller, Jobs Lane Ristorante, John Dillon Salon, Johnny Was, Laviano, Main Street Optics, Mattress Firm, Michael Kors, Michelle Farmer, Ovando, Paul Stuart, Peter Millar Poupette St. Barth, Roberta Roller Rabbit, Rumrunner Home, Saunders, Shari’s Place, Southampton Publick House, Southrifty Drug Co., Stevenson’s toys, Sunrise to Sunset, Surf & Sport, TENET, Tennis East, Therapy, The westside, Town Hall, Veronica Beard, WM Rugs and Zadeh.

Audrey Gruss founded HDRF in April 2006 in memory of her mother Hope, who struggled with clinical depression. Today, HDRF is the leading nonprofit organization focused solely on depression research and public education. The World Health Organization has declared depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, but despite its prevalence, depression is still misunderstood, underfunded and under-researched. The mission of the HDRF is to fund innovative neuroscience research into the origins, medical diagnosis, new treatments, and prevention of depression and its related mood disorders – bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and suicide.

To date, HDRF has provided more than $40 million through over 125 grants for breakthrough depression research that promises to transform the way depression is viewed, diagnosed, treated and prevented.

What is HDRF, and a quick overview of their work/achievements in the past decade:

•          HDRF is the leading non-profit dedicated solely to advanced depression research.

•          Audrey Gruss founded the organization in 2006 in memory of her mother, Hope, who struggled with depression.

•          The mission of HDRF is to fund cutting-edge neuroscience research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of depression and other related mood disorders.

•          In 2010, HDRF launched its Depression Task Force – a collaboration of nine leading scientists, at the frontiers of brain science, from different research institutions across the U.S. and Canada. To accelerate breakthrough research, they share ongoing results, in real-time, at the HDRF Data Center.

•          HDRF has invested over $40 million in advanced depression research to date.

About Depression

•          In the United States, depression affects over 20-million adults each year – that is one in 10 adults.

•          Depression is the leading cause of suicide. In the United States, one person dies by suicide every 11 minutes – over 47,000 people per year.

•          Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

•          Depression costs society $210 billion annually – 60% of which represents reduced efficiency at work and costs related to suicide.

The Crisis in Research and Treatment

•          Over 30% of those diagnosed with depression do not respond to existing treatments. 

•          In 35 years since the introduction of Prozac and other SSRI anti-depressants, there has been almost no change in the treatment of depression, just tinkering with existing approaches.

•          Although depression is one of the most serious and prevalent conditions in the US, it is ranked 77th (out of 250) in the amount of federal funding it receives.

•          Most of the major pharmaceutical companies have discontinued brain research.

What Makes HDRF Different

•          The Depression Task Force represents the most innovative approach to neuroscience research today.

•          The Task Force has created an unprecedented research plan with each member executing a piece of the plan in their own laboratories.  By avoiding well-worn paths of research, the team is shaking up the field for answers that will finally lead to new treatments for depression.  

•          They share results in real-time at a centralized data bank. This allows them to leverage data to accelerate research. This is unheard of in the entire scientific research field which is normally competitive and not collaborative.