Throughout 2024 and 2025, Kindbridge Research Institute took a closer look at how stigma operates within military communities, particularly among service members and veterans experiencing gambling-related harm. What we found was consistent, troubling, and impossible to ignore: stigma was one of the leading barriers preventing people from seeking care for gambling disorder.
Across interviews, clinical observations, and research findings, the same themes surfaced again and again. Gambling harm was often minimized or normalized. Fear of judgment, career consequences, and being perceived as “weak” kept people silent. And unlike other mental health conditions, gambling disorder frequently went unnamed, left out of screenings, conversations, and education altogether.
Stigma doesn’t disappear the moment services exist. It has to be confronted upstream, through education, visibility, and cultural relevance. That realization marked the beginning of Stigma Stand Down: a reorganization of Kindbridge’s military-focused programming and the launch of a campaign designed to reduce stigma through research, education, treatment access, and public-facing awareness.
We don’t expect stigma to vanish overnight; however, when we look at where Stigma Stand Down began and where it stands now, we can see early signs of change.
Turning Research Into Action:
Stigma Stand Down was built intentionally from the ground up. Rather than relying on abstract messaging or generalized mental health campaigns, it centered the lived reality of military-connected communities.
The goal was simple but amibitious:
Make gambling harm visibile, and make help feel accessible rather than risky.
That meant:
– Speaking directly to service members and veterans, not around them
– Placing messages in everyday environments, not just clinical or digital spaces
– Treating stigma as a structural and cultural issue, not an individual failing
From September through November 2025, Stigma Stand Down launched a coordinated statewide awareness effort across Colorado, home of Fort Carson, several other large military installations, and a large veteran population.
Reach That Reflected Real Life:
The campaign combined on-base and near-base out-of-home placements with precision digital and social outreach, ensuring messages showed up where military life happens.
Across the campaign period, Stigma Stand Down reached more than 1.4 million people statewide, with the highest reach concentrated in the Denver metro area, Colorado Springs, and Grand Junction, regions with dense military and veteran populations.
Out-of-Home placements appeared at:
– Fort Carson
– Buckley Space Force Base
– Schriever Space Force Base
– Near-base commuter corridors and community spaces
From bowling alleys to common areas to roadside billboards, messaging remained visible in places where real life occurs, countering the idea that gambling harm is rare, invisible, or something to deal with alone.
When Visibility Leads to Engagement:
Reducing stigma isn’t just about being seen, it’s about what people do next.
Across Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram) , Stigma Stand Down generated over 20,000 visits to StigmaStandDown.com with a 1.6% click-through rate on traffic campaigns, nearly double the industry benchmark.
In total, paid social efforts delivered:
– 3.49 million impressions
– 1.43 million people reached
– 20,694 website visits
Beyond clicks, the campaign sparked conversation. Posts generated hundreds of comments and shares, extending reach organically and signaling that the message resonated enough for people to engage publicly, something stigma often suppresses.
Why This Matters:
What Stigma Stand Down has demonstrated is that when messaging is culturally grounded, repeated, and visible in trusted environments, people respond.
They pause.
They click.
They share.
They consider help.
These outcomes don’t mean stigma is gone, but they do suggest it’s a start to challenging its foundations.
For a population where gambling harm is often hidden, normalized, or overshadowed by other concerns, simply naming the issue, clearly, consistently, and without judgement, is a meaningful intervention.
Where We Are Now:
Stigma Stand Down began as a response to research findings. It has grown into a coordinated effort that aligns research, education, treatment, and public awareness around a shared goal: reducing the barriers that keep service members and veterans from getting help.
This campaign is just a start.
As Kindbridge continues to expand military-focused programming, these early results help guide what comes next, where to deepen outreach, how to refine messaging, and how to continue eroding stigma where it shows up most.
Because stigma doesn’t stand down on its own.
It has to be met, intentionally, visibly, and everywhere it exists.