▶Videoyoutube.comLife Unites Us
“Life Unites Us”
Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs stigma-reduction campaign (US-PA) launched September 2020, sharing social-media stories of people in recovery, families and allies to reduce stigma toward people with opioid and other substance use disorders.
- Years
- 2020–now
- Reach
- 9M impressions as reported“year 4: 9 million impressions to almost 2 million people (sponsor).”
- Country
- United States
- Topic
- DrugsOpioids
- Asks people to
- Reduce stigmaSeek helpSupport a policy
- Strategy
- Stigma reductionTestimonial
- Channel
- EventsSocial (organic)Social (paid)Website
- Audience
- General public
Evidence
ObservationalPositive
Cross-sectional web survey (n=1,045): controlling for gender, ideology, education and race, people exposed to the campaign endorsed less desire for social distance and treatment stigma, with no difference on general attitudes. Year 3: more than 4 million Pennsylvanians reached; year 4: 9 million impressions to almost 2 million people (sponsor).
Sponsor (who paid)
- Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) State local government, funder
Credits (who made it)
Executions (individual ads)
- Ian | PA paramedic on how communities can support recovery social-paid · youtube
- Kim | What losing a loved one to overdose taught her about stigma social-paid · youtube
- Carmen | “I believed that was the person I was” social-paid · youtube
- Gina | Mom and founder of Anthony’s Way Foundation social-paid · youtube
- George | Ending addiction stigma in the workplace social-paid · youtube
- George | Fighting stigma fights the opioid crisis social-paid · youtube
- Amy | "People do change." social-paid · youtube
- George | Orgulloso de apoyar a personas en recuperación social-paid · youtube
- Addiction can truly impact anyone social-paid · youtube
- The tools and resources we need social-paid · youtube
- Cindy | A mom fighting addiction stigma for her son social-paid · youtube
- Maria | "It's all an opportunity to be able to save somebody's life" social-paid · youtube
- Michelle | An employer who hires people in recovery social-paid · youtube
- Because it affects us all social-paid · youtube
- Recovery really is possible social-paid · youtube
- Recovery really is possible social-paid · youtube
- Your life will change for the better social-paid · youtube
- At the end of the day, you're a human being social-paid · youtube
- You have the opportunity to live a new life social-paid · youtube
- Never give up social-paid · youtube
- People have story social-paid · youtube
- Make memorable memories with the people you love. social-paid · youtube
- Most important stage of my life social-paid · youtube
- People with addiction can and do recover social-paid · youtube
- She got the help she needed for a treatable disease social-paid · youtube
- Those with addiction are human beings social-paid · youtube
- In recovery, she learned to forgive herself social-paid · youtube
- Experienced it firsthand social-paid · youtube
- Better and better social-paid · youtube
- Giving back social-paid · youtube
- People often throw around words like chocoholic... (stigma language ad) 2021 · social-paid · meta-ad-library · 45K - 50K impressions · spend <$100
- There's hope for people living with opioid use disorder 2021 · social-paid · meta-ad-library · 30K - 35K impressions · spend <$100
- Starting recovery isn't easy. Staying in recovery isn't either 2021 · social-paid · meta-ad-library · 15K - 20K impressions · spend <$100
Related campaigns
- #StateWithoutStigMA 2015–now
- Michigan opioid use disorder stigma campaign 2019–2020
Sources
- Penn State: Challenging public stigma: the impact of a statewide social media campaign (Life Unites Us) evaluation
- Penn State: Life unites us: A novel approach to addressing opioid use disorder stigma (Health Educ J 2022) evaluation · 2022 · DOI 10.1177/00178969221077409
- DDAP: Year Three Findings from Stigma Reduction Campaign, Life Unites Us sponsor
- Life Unites Us YouTube channel (@LifeUnitesUsPA) archive
- Heley K et al. Reducing Health-Related Stigma Through Narrative Messages. Health Commun reference · 2019 · DOI 10.1080/10410236.2019.1598614 · PMID 31014112
- Bachhuber MA et al. Messaging to Increase Public Support for Naloxone Distribution Policies in the United States: Results from a Randomized Survey Experiment. PLoS One reference · 2015 · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0130050 · PMID 26132859
- Life Unites Us (campaign site) sponsor · 2026
Research notes
US-PA. Journal citations (DOI/PMID) for the Penn State papers not confirmed here. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Penn State Pollock Center, Shatterproof, The Public Good Projects (Penn State release, 9 Dec 2024: DDAP 'in partnership with' all three announced year-four findings; campaign launched Sept 2020). The page lists them as partners without stating roles, so the strategy and digital roles remain inferred. Target behavior here is reducing stigma, which the taxonomy lacks (gap). Ad library search: "Life Unites Us", "Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs", "PA DDAP". Extended 2026-10-22 for #17: still running through at least year four (2024); year three release said year four would add harm reduction topics such as fentanyl and xylazine test strips; no year-five findings release found. Executions are the testimonial videos on the campaign YouTube channel (most recent 30 uploads; upload years not read). Not settlement-funded per any source seen. Evaluation links reviewed 2026-10-22: DOI added for the Life Unites Us campaign paper (Health Education Journal 2022, 10.1177/00178969221077409; digital reach only); Heley 2019 and Bachhuber 2015 set to reference (general message experiments, not this campaign). Campaign site https://www.lifeunitesus.com/ live 2026-10-22.
Record cases/pa-life-unites-us.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign