Name: Rain Elise Freeman
Major: B.A. in Justice and B.S. in Public Health
Year: Junior
Her Campus American University: What issue is important to you?
Rain Freeman: Mental health and wellness.
HCAU: How did you get started?
RF: I have grown up dealing with mental health and wellness issues as individual, both in regards to family members and myself. I am also a military brat, so issues of post-traumatic stress-related homicide and suicide were very common growing up. Mental illness runs in my family and as I got older I realized how stigmatized mental health issues were as well as the overall lack of care for so many people, including my family.
HCAU: Why is this issue so important?
RF: Mental health is important for everyone in the same way that physical health is vital. However, like physical health, biases and disparities plague the community, which makes it difficult for low-income, rural, or minority citizens to have access to adequate mental health care. Not to mention, an individual’s mental health state is very much intertwined with their status in the community, as research has proven that early trauma affects an individual’s brain. More research is needed on community-based programs that can reach the most vulnerable part of our population, but this research and advocacy will never happen if mental health care is not normalized. This is why it is so vital that everyone–no matter their status–starts to see mental wellness as an important component of physical health.
HCAU: What have you done in your time at AU to combat this issue?
RF: While most of my advocacy work has been done off-campus, I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to encourage others with lived experience on campus to advocate. I have written AWOL articles about suicide in prisons and the state of mental health care services on campus. Last spring (April 2015), I initiated the development of the first ever Out of the Darkness Walk (sponsored by American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) on campus. We surpassed our goal for $5,000 towards suicide prevention research, educational programs and advocacy. In addition to the fundraising goal, more than 150 students participated. While the main goal of the walk was fundraising, I was more focused on the strengthening of a community of students with lived experience, survivors of suicide*, and allies.
*survivors of suicide refers to those who have lost others to suicide
HCAU: What have you done in the DC community to combat this issue?
RF: I have interned on the local level with the Montgomery County Mental Health Association as well as in the advocacy field with the Bazelon Mental Health Law Center downtown. Additionally, I have worked with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in volunteer roles. I have volunteered at the D.C. Out of the Darkness Walk and I led a group of American University students to walk for AFSP in the D.C. Pride Parade this summer, which was an amazing experience.
HCAU: What are some challenges you’ve faced?
RF: It’s really easy as an advocate to distance yourself from the issue even if it directly affects you. I sometimes have to force myself to remember that I myself (and my family) are a part of the community I advocate for, and this is just another effect of such pervasive stigma. I encourage others with lived experience to not be ashamed of their experiences yet I frequently stay quiet about my own because I fear judgment.
HCAU: What are some successes you’ve seen?
RF: For me, my biggest successes are helping to create or encourage other leaders and advocates in this fight. One person cannot do it alone and in order to combat stigma effectively everyone needs to be on the same page. So many people with lived experience help perpetuate stigma even though it affects them the most. This is not their fault, but the result of the society we live in. With more education, they become the best people for the job as advocates.
HCAU: What’s something you wish more people knew about this issue?
RF: There are two things–one more relevant to college campus fights against stigma and one more relevant to the general population.
1. On college campuses, we have mental health activism slowly becoming more common. However, while we have made some progress in normalizing depression and anxiety we still see A LOT of stigma on campuses towards students with serious psychiatric illnesses who deserve the same amount of respect and access to services as everyone else. Some will say that it’s not as big of a priority since those issues aren’t as common, but they really are more common than most think and it is something that needs to be addressed.
2. As for the general population, not enough people and advocates realize how intersectional this issue is and how vulnerable low-income, rural and minority populations are. Additionally, more education on the widespread affects of trauma needs to be available.
HCAU: What’s something you’ve learned about yourself since becoming an activist?
RF: I have learned that it is important to take care of myself. I can’t help others if I am falling apart because I am ignoring my own mental wellness. I also cannot encourage others to talk about their experiences if I refuse to talk about my own. I have learned that I rely a lot on myself to be my own support system, and I am proud to be working on developing a more balanced support system among family and friends.
HCAU: What’s something you hope to see one day?
RF: I hope to see comprehensive and accessible services to everyone–but that’s pretty vague and without further research and advocacy we aren’t going to know what that looks like exactly. As for a smaller goal, I would just like to see the government talk specifically about mental health reform with absolutely no relation to gun violence or mass violence–that would be pretty cool.
HCAU: What would you say to budding activists?
RF: Take care of yourself and remember that everyone has a different experience and all experiences are valid! There is a a huge split in the mental health advocacy community, which leads to a lot of fighting. As someone who has worked for both sides, I can tell you that both sides have valid experiences as well as their own biases. It’s important to recognize this and not get caught up in the politics or else you’re forgetting who you’re really advocating for.
All photos submitted by Rain Freeman