Stronger Than Stigma®

I'm applying because I know we are at our tipping point and ready to scale—we have creative, fresh ideas, we just need the right partner to invest in our success. The Prize would give us the resources to grow, which has been my dream since Day 1. We are making an impact in Jacksonville, FL and at UF, and thanks to the pandemic and our pivot to virtual programming, we've built a global community. There's a need and a desire for what we provide; this last year has proven that even more than before. We have multiple scalable models in our arsenal. The Living Room™, the Nobody’s Happy Comedy Tour™, and “How to be a Feelings Ninja™” are all scalable models with track records of success in creating grassroots impact in a local community in-person. With the prize, we’d have the capacity to strengthen the infrastructure that would support our efforts. I also am excited by the prospect of your network and the level of mentorship it could provide.

My own lived experience led me to this work. Diagnosed with Anxiety and Depression as a 17 year-old, I had no one my age to turn to and feel a sense of belonging with; I felt isolated. My parents helped me get the professional help I needed, and I was told that statistically what I was experiencing was not uncommon. And yet, I didn’t know anyone else who was struggling. I wish I’d had a support system of peers who “get it.” It didn’t exist, so I decided to create it so that no one else would ever feel like they were the only one struggling in silence. Hearing about other people’s journeys inspires and motivates me and I learned that when I open up and share about my experiences, the same happens for others. Social support is a huge component to mental wellness. I want to live in a world without stigma, where people can freely speak about their mental health and seek help without shame. 

According to WHO, 1 in 4 people face a mental health struggle at some point in their lifetime, with 450 million people currently struggling. The real number is far larger, because most will go without treatment due to stigma. In fact, two-thirds of people with known mental disorders never seek help from a mental health professional. NIMH reports that Americans aged 18-25 years had the highest prevalence of mental illnesses (25.8%) compared to adults aged 26-49 years (22.2%) and aged 50 and older (13.8%). All of these statistics were reported BEFORE the pandemic. WHO was also reporting then that Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.The long-held societal stigma keeps people quiet, ashamed to reach out for the support they need in times of crisis. As a result, people are dying. STS is about redirecting the conversation on mental health in a way that includes listening and prioritizes social support. We gather people in person and online to feel the power of community in having a shared experience and in recognizing they are not alone. We built it as a "for us, by us" social movement so we have an all millennial leadership team creating experiences for other millennials.

Our philosophy is that if it’s been done before, then clearly it hasn’t worked. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here: facing a silent epidemic—the global mental health crisis. We focus our efforts on a niche market, millennials—the generation that’s currently facing obstacles as we transition into adulthood.

STS redefines the term “peer;” formerly someone with a similar diagnosis, taking similar medication and narrowed its focus to include stage of life. Other organizations convene peers, but they do not factor in the generational divide and their differences in approaching this topic. 

We meet people where we’re at, and we leverage our generation’s presence on social media—we’re able to connect on a global scale.  

We also rely heavily on performance arts, comedy in particular, as a means of story-telling, understanding the power of gathering people who’ve had similar lived experiences to feel the power of knowing they’re not alone. 

And lastly, our programs themselves are cutting-edge. We created the first-ever pop up shop around mental health awareness. The uniqueness of the concept and the sense of urgency stirred by the limited run of a pop-up makes it impactful and culturally relevant—it demands attention, just like the subject matter. 

We're having an impact because we're not afraid to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We're not afraid to try something new and fail, or need to tweak it. Because we're small, we're nimble. We were able to pivot to being fully virtual in 2020. We know how to reach our community and they're receptive to our message, our manner of delivery, and its representatives (us). We want to take The Living Room™ to cities across the world; we've seen how powerful of a tool it was to have a brick and mortar location for our work to take place and how gathering humans for a shared experience that engages their senses really makes a difference. We're working on forming partnerships with corporations and foundations who could make that possible for us. We know we can't achieve our goals alone and we're not afraid to ask for help and collaborate/share the glory along the way. Fighting stigma is a team effort and the whole world needs to join our team. When we invite people in and ask them to lend their expertise, we've succeeded. Something we're doing is working, so onward we go.