“My neighbour, if the rain falls on you,
Let it fall on me also
From the same black cloud
That does not recognize gates…”
This is an excerpt from a poem by Scottish poet Iann Chrichton Smith, and while Smith’s name and words may not be as instantly recognizable as others’, I think they beautifully encapsulate a sense of community and how, regardless of the artificial barriers we erect between us, we are all subject to the same struggles. COVID has been a good example of this – we’ve all experienced some pretty significant emotional rollercoasters the last 2 and half years. But even in the face of this challenging time, we still have the ability to show up for each other.
Earlier this Spring, Well Being Trust launched StrengthIn.Us, a movement to democratize knowledge and programs all in service to advancing mental health. Said differently – we want everyone to see how they have strength in them to help themselves, someone else, and their community. We want folks to be a new type of first responder in the moment that a person needs help the most. This approach can help reduce reliance on an overworked emergency response system and help ensure that everyone has ways to support common mental health needs.
In fact, this week, we began to roll out a series of short vignettes highlighting the method behind community initiated care which I highly recommend you each take the time to review, and I invite you to get involved in this important work.
So today, as the nation celebrates Pride Month, I also want to take a moment to recognize the LGBTQ community as a shining example of what’s possible when people show up in support of one another.
Approximately 9 million Americans identify as lesbian or gay, bisexual, or transgender. It’s a community that, throughout history and recently, has experienced way too much discrimination, marginalization, and prejudice. From psychiatrists classifying being gay as something in need of a psychiatric diagnosis to a blatant disregard of a LBGTQ person’s rights, we have a history of treating this community poorly and are just beginning to rectify some of these problems. But we have work to do. Consider that fewer than half of the states in the country have laws in place that explicitly protect people from gender- and orientation-based discrimination.
The poor treatment of the LGBTQ community over the years has taken a tremendous toll on the mental health of its members, who are 2.5 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders than their heterosexual counterparts.
Teens who identify as LGBTQ are six times more likely to experience depression than teens who do not. Sixty percent of LGBTQ kids say they have felt so sad and hopeless that they have given up activities that once made them happy. Forty percent of transgender youth have reported feeling depressed most or all of the time. These feelings aren’t relegated to young people, either, with 53 percent of elderly LGBTQ individuals reporting feelings of isolation and loneliness. No person, regardless of age or identity, should feel this way.
Sadly, many children who identify as LGBTQ find themselves growing up in families or households that are not accepting or understanding of their identity. Twenty-nine percent of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing homelessness after being kicked out of their home by a disapproving family or running away on their own. The youth that stay in these environments are more than three times as likely to consider or attempt suicide than LGBTQ children who have homes and families that are supportive.
It’s heart-wrenching to think that a child might not be able to count on support from their family or broader community, that expressing their feelings of confusion or questioning their personal identity could lead to them being banished from their homes, unsure of where to turn for help. And yet, there are countless examples of individuals who have been cast out by loved ones and adopted into new, affirming families - ones filled with friends and strangers who welcome them with open arms.
Studies have shown that when an individual comes out both negative and positive reactions can have a long-term impact on their well-being. Words and deeds have the ability to destroy, but they also have the power to heal – and it only takes one person to make a difference. Yet when we join together, it becomes that much easier for hope to prevail. This is why community and the strength in each one of us could not be more important.
Members of the LGBTQ community recognize and know how to effectively respond when someone shows signs of struggling because those members once likely needed the same help themselves. While some have spoken words of hate, others have lifted them up, giving the gift of their presence. No matter what challenges you may face in your own life, there is a lesson to be learned here.
Despite the stigma, stereotypes, and myriad indignities they have faced, members of the LGBTQ community find strength, solace, and comfort in supporting each other where much of society has failed them. United by the basic desire – the human right – to live authentically, free from discrimination, they lift one another up in ways that is just another example of what the StrengthIn.Us campaign is all about.
Every one of us is united in the fact that we all have physical, mental, and emotional struggles, and at one point or another, we will all need help. Let’s prove that we’re up to the task of supporting one another in our times of need. Let’s follow the examples from StrengthIn.Us and from our brave LGBTQ friends, and together let’s affect positive change and expand our mental health communities of care to be inclusive of each and every one of us.
Creating Community, Not Division
This is why I started my campaign, YOU ARE ENOUGH. We need to come together to heal and help one another feel into our worthiness.
HISTORY
Foundational to rights,
firm genitor beneath ideas like
freedom
equality
rule of law
we find community
You
Me
and all our masks
and stories.
Wise elders in tribal past
devised mythic ritual,
stomping into Earth,
communion
with land
of propinquity, sacred space.
I see your face,
study the lines and lessons
life has given.
Do you grieve the scarlet
streams of so unnecessary
suffering,
missed cues,
fear itself,
unexpected ripples of results,
distress of guilt?
If life were simple
childish agonies
dispelled with dawn’s
bright kiss,
we would laugh
so happy to know
mistrust, cross-talk
easily sorted out in counsel.
Cast of collaborative cells,
congregated to empower,
we could harness the Sun, Moon,
birth of expansive Universe,
simply
nurturing our responsiveness to grow.