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Mental Health

Open, honest dialogue about mental health is so important. These posts offer perspectives often missing from the conversation.

Rooted in Rights and Mental Voices Africa logos with Closed Captioning and Audio Description logos. Festus smiles in front of a brick wall.

Mental Voices Africa – Festus (Swahili)

Content note: Mention of suicidal feelings Festus Maronga, is from Gachie, Kenya. He’s a student at Kenyatta University studying Diploma in Theatre Art and Film Technology. He loves writing poems and acting. He’s passionate about Child Rights and Mental Health.…
A row of people with their backs to the camera, each holding a sign with one letter of the word "Enough"

Stop Blaming Mental Illness for Evil Behavior

Content note: mental illness, inpatient psychiatric treatment, gun violence The worst experience of my life occurred during my fourth round of inpatient psychiatric treatment in 2016. Having used up all of my Medicare days at one of the country’s best…
Live on Logo. Disability Pride. Live On. Disability Awareness.

#LiveOn: A Reminder to Love Ourselves a Little More

Content note: discussion of suicide This September, we recognized Suicide Prevention Month. While suicide is a difficult topic for many in our society to discuss, how suicide affects the disability community is an even more challenging topic. However, people with …
Wooden shipping crate with the words "handle with care" printed on it.

People with Physical Disabilities May Also Need Mental Health Supports, and That’s Okay

This is a story that I was almost afraid to tell. But the fact that I hesitated, that I worried about how it may be received by people that know me in “real life,” is the only reason that I…
A gray-toned photo of a person hunched over.

My Family’s Normalization of Pain Made Me Believe I Wasn’t Strong

My three little toes on the outer sides of my feet curl inward so that when I walk I sometimes step on them. They look like calloused half moons. The skin is red and blistered. My body has adapted to…
Photo of parent and child Laura and Wren Reeve

Two Generations Reflect on Life Before and After the Americans with Disabilities Act

The following is a conversation about attitudes, access, and ableism before and after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) between Laura and Wren Reeve, mother and offspring, aged 48 and 19. Both have multiple chronic illnesses (between …
Angela is outside and positioned in front of a tree. She is smiling while facing the camera.

An Interview with Angela

Imagine the possibility of a world in which we all care about each other.…
Photo of author, Noor Pervez

Disabled People Deserve Better Access to Care for Eating Disorder Recovery

The first time in what was already a decade-long experience of anorexia that someone was willing to admit I had other disabilities, I was twenty years old. I was told I would be best served in an institution due to …
Image of Noela Luka. She's outside and behind her is a triangular shaped figure.

An Interview with Noela

Why talk about Mental Health?  Noela Luka is a documentary filmmaker from Kenya working with Rooted in Rights – check out her reasons.
 
Noela is working with Rooted in Rights as part of the International Professional Fellows Program for Inclusive
…