My experience with mental health stems from major depression and psychosis from the sudden death of my husband. My journey included seeking health professionals who were patient enough to help me, which led me to go down a path to becoming a social worker myself. I was depressed and suicidal for 12 long years and felt as if I had no one who understood what I was going through because one of the common things I heard was to “get over it.” I interacted with health professionals in hospitals and mental institutions who shuffled me along to push their caseload through or complete their eight hours. From those experiences, I made it a goal to become equipped so I could revisit those places in a healthier state of mind and help clients so they feel seen and heard. Since March 2015, I have been able to work through feelings of grief in a way that I call HEALING which stands for Handling Every Area Linked In Nurturing Growth. Being intentional in making healthy connections to nurture my mind, body, and soul as I heal through things that my life has dealt me. I created a virtual support group that meets every second Wednesday monthly to give thoughts on going through any kind of grief as a way of connecting and releasing as we grow through grief. I also use my time now to connect individuals to resources they feel will help them thrive in life. I have a better understanding that life will bring many trials and tribulations. The way we approach and handle those trials is completely up to us. I encourage not putting a time limit on the process, but to approach each matter with an open heart and mind so that all results that come can be celebrated.

I dream of establishing a community center in the underrepresented community of Acres Homes, TX. It will allow the community members to come in and obtain life-skill training such as Budgeting 101 or Mapping Out My Life. We will offer job skill training and resume building. We will offer certifications such as CPR or trades such as a phlebotomy tech or Community Health Worker. It will also have programs geared towards the youth and teenage groups. Their programs would include speakers telling them about different professions they can choose from. We would offer mentorship and referrals to all of our clients who register for services. We would take field trips to various colleges and other destinations that would allow them to see life beyond their current circumstances. We will have weekly conversations on what making good choices looks like. The goal full circle is to leave no person behind. I am creating this legacy by completing my social work degree at the Prairie A & M University. With this degree, I am also including my life experiences as a guide to help me stay present and deliver a level of care that makes the person being assisted as if they are worth every ounce of energy that is going into helping them. I am working as a Community Health Worker, in the position of a Family Resource Coordinator. I get the chance to see firsthand what clients struggle with when it comes to working towards a better life. I volunteer as a Progam Coordinator with an organization called Mission Achieve where we practice things such as Art Therapy, Public Speaking, and Sewing Skills. The age range we target in this group is middle to high school students molding different skills that will help them walk into adulthood. So even though this is a dream I have, I can see how my life journey is equipping and preparing me for when this dream comes to fruition. Even if I find myself partnering with other organizations bringing only what I can bring, I am ok with that. I understand what it means to not reinvent the wheel, but I will add the flavor that I give. That is what social work is allowing me to do. Be able to care for all people in a way that I hope allows them to not feel forgotten or overlooked. I have been in that position before and it does not feel good in any way.

What I plan to do with my bachelors in Social Work degree is help individuals in institutions and criminal justice systems that I was once in. I desire to deliver the quality of service that I wish I could have received. I have learned how to use the motivational interviewing technique and with me pursuing my degree in social work will help me gain additional formal training that will show employers that I am more than qualified. I will work to help individuals with non-judgmental and bias free assistance that will show them that I truly care if they succeed. Being a black woman to me makes me feel I am one of a kind. It helps in my efforts to empathize and care for those who feel as if they are not seen or heard. I come through as genuine and relatable because often times I have experienced the same things they have. I chose to go to an HBCU because I wanted to be part of something great. I wanted to be able to connect with other Black scholars that are also making strides to make a change in the community in which they live. I have been able to network with a few of those individuals and I have also been able to volunteer with the club I joined named the Social Work in Action Club. I have enjoyed collaborating and every working with others who share similar interests in helping underserved individuals.

I first have to say that I AM A SURVIVOR! In October 2003, I experienced the sudden death of my husband and entered into a 12-year-long battle with depression coupled with substance use. I was admitted into institutions due to major depression and suicidal ideations. I also experienced incarceration due to not knowing how to express myself and ultimately using substances to self-medicate. Not being connected to the proper physician who didn't just want to shuffle me along affected me tremendously. In February 2009, I experienced a failed suicide attempt, in which I broke my neck and my back and I am so grateful I am still here to use my story as a method of hope and inspiration for those I encounter. Since turning my life around on March 13, 2015, I have been on a journey to reclaim everything I feel I gave away in my addiction and mental health battles. I am pursuing my bachelor's degree at Prairie View A&M University in Social Work. I hope to use my degree to go into the institutions and jails I once was in to help shine a light of hope to the women I meet. However, until I complete my degree I am working as a Community Health Worker, assisting those who are pushing through substance use disorders and mental health concerns. Working in the maternal mental health sector I have been introduced to moms who find themselves using substances to push through issues such as depression, seeking ways to lose weight, and self-medicating to reduce stress. So I have been working with health care professionals to help bridge the gap between approach and following up with moms in their care. Helping them to understand the importance of active listening and the utilization of motivational interviewing can help a mom who may be having a hard time finding balance. There is nothing worse than asking for help and the person you have to help you only sees an addict or some other bias they cannot let go of. So I plan to extend the help that I wish I would have liked to see to show the women I work with that life is possible and they are being heard. Working with them on action plans they create and serving as their accountability partner to help cheer them on as they get to the level they set. I will remind them that the sky is the limit and it is up to them to be the change they want to see.

I am a senior at Prairie View A&M, obtaining my bachelor's degree in Social Work. My passion is to help those pushing through Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health Disorders. I understand how it feels to be stigmatized and not get the best help that health professionals have to offer. In July I will be starting a role as a Client Advocate, in which I will be assisting clients through the Harris County Public Defenders Office, who are incarcerated helping to ensure they get a fair trial. This position will allow me to also provide each client with resources they may be interested in that would help them make changes in their life so they can thrive and not just survive. I am excited about this position, because I believe everyone should have access to fair treatment and the ability to obtain resources they may not know about that can help them and their family. Once we grasp the fact that some people may not know how to ask for help, we then will be able to meet people where they are and help them the best way we can. I want to be that light they see and know that I am not here to judge them or their circumstance, but I am here to help them as much as they will allow me to. Being able to help those no matter their background, especially those in underserved communities helps to fuel my fire. So often they are written off because they cannot afford certain aides such as therapy, a psychiatrist, or even access to a center that could help them get off of substances and they may simply not know that help is available. I am currently working as a Community Health Worker because informing the community and working with medical professionals allows me to help bridge the gap. I see myself as a voice for those who are considered voiceless. I also strive to show individuals that I work with that there is hope as well as help that is available if they desire to change. I understand wholeheartedly that I cannot force anyone to change. But what I can do is provide them the resources if they are interested and use the words of my testimony to show them that with the proper help and taking steps to shift their mindset, they too can live a life they never expected.

Growing up as a teenager, I felt misunderstood and that I didn't belong(mostly due to sexual orientation). I didn't know how to communicate with my mother, which led me to wanting to talk to other adults. In conversing with older people, I began to think that the love that I didn't feel at home, was what I found in these older companions. Sad to say, everyone that appears to be for you, isn't for you nor do they have your best interest as heart. By the age of 18, I had passed up those things that most high school kids get to enjoy like prom, projection graduation, and most importantly a basketball scholarship trying to appease this older romance. I also allowed someone to convince me to get a credit card in my name just to buy an extra extension on what I deemed as love. Missing these things have turned out to be the biggest regrets of my life. Not only was I trying to find love in someone else, I also was trying to escape my own reality of having two parents that vigoroulsly fought and did not respect the peace that I needed. As an adult now, I dream to start a community center that doesn't have a limit for the ages of 12/13. After that age, that's actually when we need the most help. We are trying to understand our natural desires, trying to figure out what group we best fit in, and sometimes we forget to learn to love ourselves. I think having a center with diversity, with race, gender, and orientation would be an encouraging environment for young teens to find themselves and ask those questions that they may be afraid to ask their parents. At this center, I would not only want to see the typical basketball courts and computer rooms, but also classes that teach young teens how to do resumes, learn about credit, public speaking, and even having tutoring offered would be nice. Having a center in every community would be beneficial, regardless the wealth or poverty of the area because the need for teen mentorship is not biased to a certain race. At the ages of 13-18, we all need that extra bit of guidance that naturally gets shut out from our parents. If I had this kind of a place coming up, I do feel that it would have kept me busy and away from unhealthy relationships that lay the foundation for mental distruction and a lack of self love as well as a healthy esacpe from the things you can't control like to home environment. I would welcome certified mental health specialist, as well alumnis that may have benefited from the program to help with the future kids.

My experience with areas surrounding mental health is heavily centered around grief has influenced me and the way I approach everything in life. Being someone who was once labeled as severely depressed with psychosis, I found myself struggling with the thought of how the God of my understanding would allow me to live with this gaping hole in my heart and not have a way for me to get out or even have someone to talk to. The relationships I had were strained because my loved ones did not know how to properly take care of me in my fragile mental state. Most of my family suppresses their emotions rather than talk about what is going on. So, they often told me to just get over things, not understanding that I was stuck in the depression portion of grief and did not know what to do to get out. As a result, it was hard for me to communicate what I needed and oftentimes would just hold things in. The depression was so thick I could not think of anything career-wise that would allow me to be the best I could be and at one point I wanted to give up. In 2015 which would happen to be the 12th year of my depression, I was able to find a form of therapy that worked for me. The therapist used a technique called Motivational Interviewing to help me talk through what I had going on and helped me devise a plan that allowed me to take control of mental areas that were affecting other areas of life and get to where I can now thrive. It helped me to gain confidence in knowing that there will be times when the plan must be revised, and new methods may need to be implemented. I use meditation to help me regain a sense of connection to the God of my understanding and rekindle the spiritual component needed to help with my foundation and rebuilding hope. I also incorporate yoga and exercise to help with natural practices that help my overall mental state. Relationships that were once strained were rebuilt with our focus being communication and boundaries as main pillars of how we will operate in the common goal of respecting each other’s mental health space. My mental health struggles have inspired me to become a Social Worker, emphasizing Behavioral Mental Health. I am also a Mental Health First Aider. Being a Mental Health First Aider I am awarded the opportunity to use those skills learned in that training to help those ranging from individuals who just need an ear to those who may be having a full-blown mental crisis. My goal is to help those the way I wish I could have been helped. No, I am not using opportunities to say I can help every client who comes through my office, but I do use judgment on who I can help and who I cannot help. I understand that with everyone I encounter, I will not be able to help physically on the active caseload I may have, however, I may be able to get them connected to the person or resource they need to help them in the area they have expressed they need help in. My goal is also to one day have a center or partnership that will allow individuals to come in and get free help with navigating services if they are struggling as well as have connections to support groups that will help them develop new coping techniques or possibly build relationships conducive to their recovery.

My experience with mental health changed the way I look at my beliefs surrounding life, relationships, and career aspirations. The traumatic sudden death of my husband in 2003 sent me into a depression that continued for 12 years. I struggled not only with depression but was also dual diagnosed with suicidal ideations and that almost turned out to be fatal for me in Feb. 2009. It wasn't until March 2015 that I was able to have an opportunity to change my surroundings as well as access to other forms of therapy that I got the chance to understand that grief is a normal part of life. I understand that everyone grieves differently and from that moment was able to accept things to help me grow mentally. I had to find ways to process the emotions I was feeling healthily so that I did not cause harm to myself. I have rebuilt my self-image and practice mindfulness now to help me through difficult situations. My experience with mental health influenced my relationships and showed me that it is best to say what you need to say when it comes to setting healthy boundaries when you are struggling mentally. Again as stated before we know that everyone will have different ways they approach their mental health journey and that is okay. But getting those who I had and still have close relationships with to understand that no magnitude of mental illness outweighs the other. And as long as help is being sought and incorporated into daily living then we can work on a way to live together right where we are. So the importance of respecting boundaries and individual processes became even more important to be discussed. The way my mental health experience has shaped and is shaping my career, is now I am on my way to becoming a Licensed Social Worker. I do understand that degrees and licenses would need to be obtained to make this dream possible, but I am well on my way. I desire to be the help I wish I would have had when I was going through my mental struggles. I understand that in some cases medicine is needed and I also encourage anyone to get help in that manner if this is the recommendation that was given. I also understand that having the right therapist who can evoke the questions that you can think about and answer yourself can help as well. I realized that we do not have to go through any mental illness alone. There is work that has to be done and that work would be finding out who is right for us to work with so we can get where we need to be on our mental journey.

Volunteering and participating in community service have continued to open my heart to humanity and the endless possibilities that there are to help in some way. Volunteering gives me the opportunity to remember not to take for granted for one moment that I could be placed in the very situation I am volunteering with and that helps me stay humble. When I think about how volunteering has shaped my perspective, I think of how even some of the best of us may fall upon hard times. And who sharing a little of my time can help lift someone just for the day and hopefully a lifetime. Most people I meet in my volunteering are humble and show a level of gratitude and determination to make changes while on this part of their journey in life. Volunteering has given me the opportunity to work with individuals who are looking for better ways to live life. This helps me to remember that everyone deserves to be respected right where they are and if chances to encourage come then do so to the best of my ability. It is those moments and interactions that I use to search for ways to do more. One opportunity I had to do more was with an organization called Positive Express. We mentored girls ages 8-18 on creating and maintaining healthy self-esteem. This volunteering experience has inspired me to develop a curriculum called Don’t Get Boxed Up, which uses 12 weeks and goes through scenarios on how to make wiser decisions when life comes during adolescent years and even young adulthood. Working with them has allowed me to discuss confidence and the importance of a positive self-image as well as operating with morals and values. I got to show them an example of what respecting yourself looks like and use positive reinforcements when finding ways to encourage them to try new things. I also volunteer at my son’s school. He is in the second grade and with so many changes that are happening in the public school system I do all I can to be available and help where they need me most. My volunteering has shifted my career path from Business Management to Social Work. I have a desire to extend the level of social services that I wish to receive if I were sitting on the other side of my desk. My goal is to create a judgment-free zone when working with my clients. I understand that some clients may be repeating their situation and for some, it may be their first time needing help. Either way, both sets of people should be treated with dignity and respect. There is nothing worse than needing help and the person who is in place to help you treats you with no dignity. So, my goal is to work on changing the narrative of how the support is delivered. I want to open a center or collaborate with a resource center that will allow me to work with the youth to young adult age range that they serve or that may come in seeking services. I will serve as a Service Navigator or Mentor until I complete the education needed to be a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I am looking forward to hosting community events that will allow the community neighbors to come in for wellness sessions. I am also looking forward to collaborating and partnering with like-minded organizations that share similar goals. I want to make sure that we cover addressing healthy outlooks and ways to focus on the Mind, Body, Soul, and Community. The sessions will include designated community workout days or even gardening days to help bring awareness to the importance of maintaining a healthy body. There will be summer reading enrichment to help with building and nurturing the mind. We will also have back-to-school anti-bullying events. This will be intended to help continue to keep the youth active and engaged and show them that we do care if they succeed. I also want to include training events that will allow individuals to get additional skills on what can help them be better overall. Having programs in place to stimulate someone's mind or suggest different behaviors can allow them in my opinion to see things differently and make changes where they need to so they can ultimately thrive. My goal is to provide exposure to things they may not have access to on a regular basis so they find a way tp use that as fuel to do something different.

My experience with areas surrounding mental health is heavily centered around grief has influenced me and the way I approach everything in life. Being someone who was once labeled as severely depressed with psychosis, I found myself struggling with the thought of how the God of my understanding would allow me to live with this gaping hole in my heart and not have a way for me to get out or even have someone to talk to. The relationships I had were strained because my loved ones did not know how to properly take care of me in my fragile mental state. Most of my family suppresses their emotions rather than talk about what is going on. So, they often told me to just get over things, not understanding that I was stuck in the depression portion of grief and did not know what to do to get out. As a result, it was hard for me to communicate what I needed and oftentimes would just hold things in. The depression was so thick I could not think of anything career-wise that would allow me to be the best I could be and at one point I wanted to give up. In 2015 which would happen to be the 12th year of my depression, I was able to find a form of therapy that worked for me. The therapist used a technique called Motivational Interviewing to help me talk through what I had going on and helped me devise a plan that allowed me to take control of mental areas that were affecting other areas of life and get to where I can now thrive. It helped me to gain confidence in knowing that there will be times when the plan must be revised, and new methods may need to be implemented. I use meditation to help me regain a sense of connection to the God of my understanding and rekindle the spiritual component needed to help with my foundation and rebuilding hope. I also incorporate yoga and exercise to help with natural practices that help my overall mental state. Relationships that were once strained were rebuilt with our focus being communication and boundaries as main pillars of how we will operate in the common goal of respecting each other’s mental health space. My mental health struggles have inspired me to become a Social Worker, emphasizing Behavioral Mental Health. I am also a Mental Health First Aider. Being a Mental Health First Aider I am awarded the opportunity to use those skills learned in that training to help those ranging from individuals who just need an ear to those who may be having a full-blown mental crisis. My goal is to help those the way I wish I could have been helped. No, I am not using opportunities to say I can help every client who comes through my office, but I do use judgment on who I can help and who I cannot help. I understand that with everyone I encounter, I will not be able to help physically on the active caseload I may have, however, I may be able to get them connected to the person or resource they need to help them in the area they have expressed they need help in. My goal is also to one day have a center or partnership that will allow individuals to come in and get free help with navigating services if they are struggling as well as have connections to support groups that will help them develop new coping techniques or possibly build relationships conducive to their recovery.

I am a Courage. I know that seems odd to announce myself as such but truthfully this is the stage that I am in currently in life. Being able to be myself and be free just as I am. A little back story to how we got here begins in October 2003 when I lost my husband to a sudden motorcycle accident. That event impacted my life and mind in a major way. I felt as if I were stuck in a horror movie and no one had the script or the switch to make it stop. I was clinically diagnosed with chronic severe depression with psychotic features. This lasted 12 long years. Needing a geographic change, on March 13, 2015, I arrived in Minnesota from Texas in hopes of a new opportunity in life. I am proud to say that act of courage started me on a journey that has been elevating me ever since. While there I was introduced to a form of therapy that uses the motivational interviewing method and that is what I found most helpful. This method reminded me that I was destined to be great and that what I needed to do was already inside of me. I have gone on to become a Mental Health First Aider so I can be there to recognize signs in anyone who may be going through a crisis. I do my best to make myself available to those seeking resources if they are looking to make significant life changes for the better. With that being said and when I think of how I will use the money to create a better life for myself and those that are connected to me in some way several things come to mind. A portion will go to help pay for school. I would treat my family to a nice dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I would donate a portion to the Shades of Blue Project which is a nonprofit organization that focuses on bringing awareness to Black Maternal Mental Health and provides free social support services to all moms in need. I would invest some into a location for a few months for my nonprofit organization SPAARKS, which stands for Stimulating Positive Actions and Reaching Kontinued Success. Here we focus on providing free grief support services and service navigation assistance to underserved individuals ages 13-35. We understand that everyone may not have the same abilities to navigate what is necessary or even have the same access to certain resources that will allow them to get to a place where they feel they are living a full life with at least having their basic needs covered. Once we have a location we will also offer resume-building and soft skill-up sessions for all individuals who are looking to sharpen their job workforce skills. We offer a few now but cannot wait to see how many more we can help with a set location. We encourage everyone we come into contact with to keep striving and never give up on being the best version of themselves that they can be. Grief and depression almost took me out. But I am living proof that access to the right resources and proper people in place can mean the difference between life and death.

A little background on who I am starts with me living my life as a Survivor. Before seeing, feeling, and living as a Survivor I was struggling with depression and suicidal ideations that lasted 12 years at one point had me thinking my life was all but over. It was not until March 13, 2015, when I was able to relocate from Texas to Minnesota for a short period to allow myself an opportunity to regroup, clear my mind, do some true soul and self-searching, and get help from a new set of professionals who had more to offer than a prescription. During this time while in Minnesota, I was introduced to the style of counseling that uses the method of Motivational Interviewing. It was at these interactions that I also reflected on how I had gone through counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, and doctors and how they did not evoke any thoughts or stimulate any ideas on the inside as to how I could truly work through the grief I was carrying. I was treated transactional, and it made me feel that they did not care to see what I had going on based on the words I was sharing about the current state that I was in mentally. The Motivational Interviewing Method sparked something in me that gave me the drive to continue to get my life on track and work to be able to help those struggling with grief or depression the way I desired to be helped. Since moving back to Texas at the end of 2015, I have been able to become a certified Community Health Worker and started a nonprofit titled SPAaRKS (Stimulating Positive Actions and Reaching Kontinued Success) where I currently offer free service navigation for individuals ages 13-35 in the underserved population who need help finding resources or services that help them sustain a life in which they feel they are thriving. When I work with minors and their guardians on what services they are seeking I also work to see how we can use those services or connecting services as building blocks to help cover areas that will help prepare them for adulthood. For the remaining age ranges I use Motivational Interviewing to help encourage them to think outside the box and make sure they are given those reminders that they are doing everything in their power to make changes and discuss their progress and plans they have. I am a Senior Transfer Student at Prairie View A&M University obtaining my Bachelor’s in Social Work and from there, my goal is to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I am using what I learning to help me on my quest to understand myself better so I can be the best version of myself when I go to help others. I plan to positively impact my clients and those I come into contact with by doing all I can to remind them that they are visible. I will remind them that help is available and it comes in many forms and if one way does not work do not stop until you find what does help. I will offer a lifelong reminder for everyone to never give up and that they are worth living. Because after all there is something that needs to be done that only they can do.

The dream version of my future self owns an engagement center that allows those between the ages of 13-35 to come in and get help with the life plans they are working on or get the life skills needed to help them get to a place of planning out their life's plans.

I believe mental health is important because in my opinion it is the first line of defense to help us with our physical health and encourages us to find a more holistic approach to living. When our mental health is all over the place and not intact we find ourselves making unhealthy eating choices and possibly indulging in bad habits. Not taking care of your mental health properly you could lash out at the wrong time and the level of patience you have will seem slim to none. By taking care of our mental health we not only help to reduce various stresses that may come but we find ourselves being mindful as we handle and view things that are within and outside of our circle of control. Focusing on healthy mental health, we give ourselves a chance to make sound decisions in situations that arise. Ways I take care of my mental health are making sure I have a diet that does not include too much sugar that will have me feeling sluggish. I started to include foods recommended from the Mediterranean Diet to encourage a more overall healthy diet. I also find ways to make sure I do not get too hungry, angry lonely or tired. I take naps when needed and I also find ways to have time specifically for self-care. I incorporate exercise 3-4 times a week between 15 and 30 minutes at a time to help with the chemicals that are connected to physical activity. I journal and write realistic goals to help me when I need to reflect on previous lists that help me when I am feeling down and stay on track. I give myself grace and remind myself that I do not have to have it all together but the goal is progress, not perfection. So I practice giving myself grace while I go through my journey and be sure that I do not compare myself to others too much. Being that the comparison of yourself to others can cause depression I stay away from it. I affirm myself and set boundaries that align with my affirmations to help me as I build relationships. I reinforce the boundaries I have set overall so that everyone that I am in a relationship with will know how to properly care for me and guidelines can be respected. I spend time with my family to make connections with them so we can all stimulate each other's minds and have a moment to check-in.