[Music]
our mental health system is broken as a
licensed social worker and a therapist
I’ll be the first to admit it
I used to go into families homes
thinking that I was going to help them
Hill only to find out that we were
putting band-aids on two broken bones
I’ve stood in hospital rooms helplessly
looking at newborn babies in incubators
who are addicted to heroin because their
parents didn’t have the support they
needed to deal with addiction I’ve even
sat at kitchen tables with moms crying
as their son was being hauled off to a
juvenile detention center due to
behaviors that were the result of
unaddressed mental health challenges
I’ve stood in the middle of a violent
domestic dispute between a husband and
wife because they didn’t have the skills
or confidence needed to deescalate their
crisis I lost my best friend from
college to mental illness by way of
suicide I’ve attempted suicide multiple
times and since I was about 14 years old
I’ve struggled with symptoms related to
anxiety and depression now all of these
instances have one thing in common they
weren’t addressed until after a crisis
so about a year and a half ago I asked
myself one question
what are you going to do about it that’s
when I had my moment of awakening so one
day after a session with the family I
decided to drive my car into one of our
most cherished and loved communities for
african-americans here in Pittsburgh the
hill district and as I’m driving there I
said the first person you see have a
conversation with them about mental
health no agenda no outcomes no budget
just find somebody to listen to and as I
pull up to park I see two ladies sitting
on their front porch in something in my
soul said that’s who you need to speak
with at this very moment so I built up
enough courage to walk toward the and as
I approached both of them one of the
ladies jumps up and immediately runs
into her house the other woman decided
to stay in her seat and I think God for
that so I walk up to her and I stuttered
and I said excuse me ma’am
my name is Julius I lost my best friend
from college to mental illness I have
attempted suicide multiple times and as
a therapist I know I’m part of a broken
system I’m looking for somebody anybody
in our community to tell me how they
overcome mental health challenges do you
know anyone who’d be willing to share
their story because I just want to
listen she leans back opens the screen
door and yells inside Stacey you need to
come out here and talk with this man
right now
Stacy comes back to the door I give her
my schpeel
and she invites a complete stranger into
her house
I listen as Stacy shared stories about
PTSD depression and anxiety
I listen as Stacy shared stories about
treatment resources and supports I even
listened as Stacy shared stories about
faith family and friends at the end of
our conversation I gave her 20 bucks I
left my phone number and we took a
picture together now at the time I had
no idea but that was the birth of our
grassroots culturally competent in human
centered mental health service efforts
in the community over the next year we
were blessed with the privilege of
hearing some of the most traumatic and
triumphant stories ever people would
often ask how do you get community
members to tell you their deepest and
darkest secrets I would always try to
come up with some therapeutic spiritual
or even scientific explanation but the
only thing I could think to say was we
listen people didn’t like that response
so I’d give it some more thought and the
only thing I could think to say was we
listen and they say of course you listen
we listen to people every single day
but they don’t bare their souls with us
so there has to be something that you do
what is it so after doing a little more
research and reflecting here’s what we
were able to come up with we don’t go
into anyone’s community with the intent
to diagnose assess or prescribe we don’t
come in as a clinician who’s looking to
fix a client we enter as a broken human
being who’s looking to connect and begin
our healing process together with
another broken human being we meet
people exactly where they are whether
it’s a barber shop a liquor store or a
church we want our community members to
know that we value and deeply appreciate
their surroundings so if someone feels
most comfortable in a specific setting
then that’s where we are with them we
don’t judge and we acknowledge
everything we know that all of us are
carrying the weight of our guilt our
shame and our wrongdoings it’s not our
responsibility to highlight that our
purpose is to nurture a space that
promotes authenticity and acceptance
that’s what we mean when we say we just
listen after one conversation the
community a gentleman asked me why did
you stop and talk
with me again I found myself trying to
come up with some in-depth explanation
but the only thing I could think to say
was sir I don’t know his answer blew my
mind he said I know why it’s because
you’re an angel and you were sent to
listen to me he added I’m a war vet and
I’ve been struggling with PTSD for
almost 30 years there are youth in our
community who tease me not because
they’re malicious but because they don’t
understand what I’m coping with so today
I was going to do one of two things I
was either going to hurt myself or
someone else but you came along and you
listened and I don’t want to do that
anymore so I’ll leave us with this if we
ever find ourselves feeling like our joy
our pain and our well-being
doesn’t matter to those around us please
know that we’re loved valued and
appreciated if we ever find ourselves
filling overwhelmed unwanted or unheard
please know that there’s someone who’s
willing able and qualified who wants to
listen and if we ever find ourselves
asking the question
how can we possibly save someone’s life
please know that it starts with us just
listening thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
our mental health system is broken as a
licensed social worker and a therapist
I’ll be the first to admit it
I used to go into families homes
thinking that I was going to help them
Hill only to find out that we were
putting band-aids on two broken bones
I’ve stood in hospital rooms helplessly
looking at newborn babies in incubators
who are addicted to heroin because their
parents didn’t have the support they
needed to deal with addiction I’ve even
sat at kitchen tables with moms crying
as their son was being hauled off to a
juvenile detention center due to
behaviors that were the result of
unaddressed mental health challenges
I’ve stood in the middle of a violent
domestic dispute between a husband and
wife because they didn’t have the skills
or confidence needed to deescalate their
crisis I lost my best friend from
college to mental illness by way of
suicide I’ve attempted suicide multiple
times and since I was about 14 years old
I’ve struggled with symptoms related to
anxiety and depression now all of these
instances have one thing in common they
weren’t addressed until after a crisis
so about a year and a half ago I asked
myself one question
what are you going to do about it that’s
when I had my moment of awakening so one
day after a session with the family I
decided to drive my car into one of our
most cherished and loved communities for
african-americans here in Pittsburgh the
hill district and as I’m driving there I
said the first person you see have a
conversation with them about mental
health no agenda no outcomes no budget
just find somebody to listen to and as I
pull up to park I see two ladies sitting
on their front porch in something in my
soul said that’s who you need to speak
with at this very moment so I built up
enough courage to walk toward the and as
I approached both of them one of the
ladies jumps up and immediately runs
into her house the other woman decided
to stay in her seat and I think God for
that so I walk up to her and I stuttered
and I said excuse me ma’am
my name is Julius I lost my best friend
from college to mental illness I have
attempted suicide multiple times and as
a therapist I know I’m part of a broken
system I’m looking for somebody anybody
in our community to tell me how they
overcome mental health challenges do you
know anyone who’d be willing to share
their story because I just want to
listen she leans back opens the screen
door and yells inside Stacey you need to
come out here and talk with this man
right now
Stacy comes back to the door I give her
my schpeel
and she invites a complete stranger into
her house
I listen as Stacy shared stories about
PTSD depression and anxiety
I listen as Stacy shared stories about
treatment resources and supports I even
listened as Stacy shared stories about
faith family and friends at the end of
our conversation I gave her 20 bucks I
left my phone number and we took a
picture together now at the time I had
no idea but that was the birth of our
grassroots culturally competent in human
centered mental health service efforts
in the community over the next year we
were blessed with the privilege of
hearing some of the most traumatic and
triumphant stories ever people would
often ask how do you get community
members to tell you their deepest and
darkest secrets I would always try to
come up with some therapeutic spiritual
or even scientific explanation but the
only thing I could think to say was we
listen people didn’t like that response
so I’d give it some more thought and the
only thing I could think to say was we
listen and they say of course you listen
we listen to people every single day
but they don’t bare their souls with us
so there has to be something that you do
what is it so after doing a little more
research and reflecting here’s what we
were able to come up with we don’t go
into anyone’s community with the intent
to diagnose assess or prescribe we don’t
come in as a clinician who’s looking to
fix a client we enter as a broken human
being who’s looking to connect and begin
our healing process together with
another broken human being we meet
people exactly where they are whether
it’s a barber shop a liquor store or a
church we want our community members to
know that we value and deeply appreciate
their surroundings so if someone feels
most comfortable in a specific setting
then that’s where we are with them we
don’t judge and we acknowledge
everything we know that all of us are
carrying the weight of our guilt our
shame and our wrongdoings it’s not our
responsibility to highlight that our
purpose is to nurture a space that
promotes authenticity and acceptance
that’s what we mean when we say we just
listen after one conversation the
community a gentleman asked me why did
you stop and talk
with me again I found myself trying to
come up with some in-depth explanation
but the only thing I could think to say
was sir I don’t know his answer blew my
mind he said I know why it’s because
you’re an angel and you were sent to
listen to me he added I’m a war vet and
I’ve been struggling with PTSD for
almost 30 years there are youth in our
community who tease me not because
they’re malicious but because they don’t
understand what I’m coping with so today
I was going to do one of two things I
was either going to hurt myself or
someone else but you came along and you
listened and I don’t want to do that
anymore so I’ll leave us with this if we
ever find ourselves feeling like our joy
our pain and our well-being
doesn’t matter to those around us please
know that we’re loved valued and
appreciated if we ever find ourselves
filling overwhelmed unwanted or unheard
please know that there’s someone who’s
willing able and qualified who wants to
listen and if we ever find ourselves
asking the question
how can we possibly save someone’s life
please know that it starts with us just
listening thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
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