In the past few months, there has been some discussion on possibly creating a radical mental health collective here in Wilmington. Lately I have been trying to become more aware of the issues surrounding mental health in the radical community and would like to take the next step into making our ideas into reality.

While I was slacking off at work today, I jotted down some thoughts just to sort of outline what our goals as a local radical mental health collective might be, and what we can possibly provide to the community if we get it started. I just wanted to briefly share it and would like to invite anyone to comment and contribute their own thoughts and ideas. Also, if you want to come to the next BYOH meeting at the Action Center on August 13, you can bring your ideas there and we can have an in depth discussion together as a group.

GOALS:
1) To provide a safe place and offer support to those in need, whether it’s through group discussions, a one-on-one private session, therapeutic finger painting, etc.
2) To provide relevant information, literature and facts that can help medically, emotionally and spiritually.
3) To provide natural, herbal remedies/alternatives or refreshments for those who are interested. (I am not sure how everyone feels about distributing herbal pills and such, but I thought I’d throw it out there anyway just in case. If not, maybe we can always just have some tea, healthy snacks, recipes, etc.)
4) To provide a comfortable atmosphere where no one is excluded—if you are or feel that you are suffering from a mental disorder, depression, an eating disorder, any form of abuse, etc, then we will welcome you and do what we can to ease whatever pain you are suffering from.

So overall, I was thinking we can offer support groups, a sanctuary where people can relax and feel safe, and maybe have a lending library with zines, self-help books, nonfiction literature, etc.

And that’s pretty much it, I think. Way to go, Heroes and I’ll see you at the next meeting!