Backup — original pdf

Backup

Whatsinthemirror?Tarik Daniels, Founder/Executive DirectorAfrican American Advisory Commision Presentation 1/7/20Recap of 2019Whatsinthemirror? is a 501c3 non-profit organization and social movement that provides suicide prevention and mental health awareness to communities of color through art, advocacy, and affirming care with a focus on women, youth, LGBTQIA+ persons.January 2019Presentation : Social Depression and the Intersectionality of Being Black and Queer in America*Jan 2019: Central Texas African American Family Support Conference (Austin, TX)*Aug 2019: Beyond Brothas Summer Summit (Austin, TX)*Oct 2019: In My Mind Conference ( NYC, NY)Launch of our Mental Wellness Database of Color*Called each person and ask for updated info* Future Opportunity: Website & Funding to MaintainMental Wellness Meetups*Every First Saturday: Meet Up with Community Members and Clinicians/ Health Providers of Color*Monthly Topics*Future Opportunity: More Participation from Clinicians of Color and new spaceMarch- April 2019Anti Bullying CampaignLaunch 2017, Schools & After School ProgramsFuture Opportunity: Funding, More SchoolsApril- Self Love, Self Esteem Fashion/Hair ShowMay- Children's Mental Health, Teen SummitJune 2019- Trans Safety Pop Up Town HallJuly- Minority Mental Health Video ChallengeAugust 2019- Fireflies, PlayCurrent Projects:City of Austin ProclamationWhatsinthemirror? Received a City of Austin Proclamation, declaring September 19th, LGBTQIA SUICIDE AWARENESS DAY A NIGHT OF LOVE4th Annual was the biggest one yet!LGBTQ Playwriting CompetitionOVer 110 SubmissionsOver $70,000 across 2 grants!The Art Heals ProjectThe Art Heals Project is a healing justice movement focused on the intersectionality of mental health and HIV Prevention/PWLHA through advocacy, art, and affirming care to marginalized communities. The Art Heals Project will consist of four components including 1) Healing Justice Peer Support Groups designed for People living with HIV/AIDS on topics around HIV related and mental wellness stigma. 2) Affirming Care Pathways that will consist of a direct care pathways for People Living with HIV/AIDS including mental wellness providers, HIV prevention providers/organizations, health centers, telehealth providers, primary care providers dedicated to cultural competency and the model of healing justice framework. 3) Social Media, Print, Billboard Campaign focused on the intersectionality of mental wellness and HIV Prevention/People Living with HIV/AIDS through creative, healing, and cultural responsiveness. 4) Southern HIV Awareness Day Arts Heals Festival that will happen on Southern HIV Awareness Day that will consists of workshops, rehearsals with People Living with HIV/AIDS, community members, artists, clinicians with various forms of art to raise awareness and eliminate HIV related and mental wellness stigma.GOAL #1Our first goal is to create Healing Justice Peer Support Groups. These groups will be weekly safe/brave space for People Living with HIV and/or those who are committed to ending HIV related or mental health stigma as well as persons living with a mental health condition. This brave space will be lead by our Executive Director, who is a trained Peer Specialist as well as a person living with HIV and will continue to seek out training and opportunities to grow. We will invite other healing justice dedicated HIV related and/or mental health clinicians for break out sessions and other related programming over time to meet the needs of the population while maintaining our healing justice framework. We will obtain participants via a referral system created between us and HIV related and mental health clinicians and organizations. Our main objective is ending HIV related and mental health stigma while aiding into getting communities of color to zero new infections, zero deaths, and zero discrimination due to stigma. We want to spark high level conversations around HIV related and mental health stigma with people living with HIV or mental health conditions and others dedicated to ending the stigma. Another objective included in our first goal is creating a campaign and message focused on the intersectionality of mental wellness and HIV prevention/People Living with HIV/AIDS through creative, healing, and cultural responsiveness. We will want this campaign to be accessible through billboard ads, print ads, as well as social media presence. HIV prevention should be marketed to addressing the whole person and not just the disease itself. We will 1).Allow creative feedback and suggestions regarding campaign. 2).Execute design competitions with people most impacted. 3).Collect data through surveys and questionnaires.Collaboration: Center for Health Empowerment ( location, clients) :The CHE wellness clinic provides PrEP and PEP medications, HEP C treatment, STI screening, prevention and treatment, and continuing care. We work with community partners to help eligible participants find community resources for transportation, housing, mental health, and substance abuse. Our navigators provide personalized, caring support at all stages of care. While we serve everyone, our focus population is men, women, and transgender persons of color who are at a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections.)GOAL #2Our second goal is to create Affirming Care Pathways that will consist of sustainable direct care pathways for People Living with HIV/AIDS including mental wellness providers, HIV prevention providers/organizations, health centers, telehealth providers, primary care providers dedicated to cultural competent care. This goal directly aligns with SUSTAIN content area of wellness/wellbeing. We have work with our community in expanding the idea of what mental health is by moving towards the language of "mental wellness" rather than "mental health". After years of advocating in our communities we realized that communities of color in Austin are wanting and needing more options outside of just traditional therapy. Our project is modeled with advocating for more mind, body, and spirituality programs. More holistic health including physical fitness, nutrition, and support in clinical and non-clinical environments while creating and fostering connections and mutual support for communities. Whatsinthemirror? has a already begun compiling a Mental Wellness Database for Austin,Texas that includes mental wellness providers and organizations of color that's available on our website. We personally called each clinician and organization to be listed on our database and we will further our efforts by obtaining a dedication of providing affirming care that includes cultural competent care but not limited to it. Our spreadsheet includes counselors, yoga instructors, life coaches, holistic practitioners, traditional and indigenous practitioners. Our work has taught us that Western approaches doesn't always consider persons religious or sacred ideas or beliefs. We are first a mental health awareness and suicide prevention social movement and we work closely with a younger population via our social media efforts and 100% believe in the effectiveness of telehealth and meeting the needs of the community in this digital age. We will work diligently to identify a telehealth organization or provider that we can promote across all of our social media networks that commits to our principles and principles of SUSTAIN. Collaborations: The Woodard Circle :an affirmative space for black Poz men Mission Statement :Our mission is to inspire HIV+ black men to empower each other through social support, resource sharing, and collective healing. By providing a safe space for male-identified people of African descent, we aim to enhance our mental well-being and quality of life. Named in honour of black gay HIV+ scholar and artist Vincent Woodard (1971-2008), our circle continues the legacy of this cherished Austin resident. GOAL #3Our third goal is the Southern AIDS Awareness Day Art Heals Festival to commemorate Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day by using art as an educational and healing tool. This art festival will allow us to collaborate with People with Living with HIV/AIDS as well as local artists and community members whom are dedicated to end HIV related and mental health stigma. Our objectives include 1).Create art programming leading up to the art festival. 2). Plan the details of the Inaugural Art Festival with participants of our Healing Peer Specialist Peer Groups and community members. 3).Work out rehearsals space details and art festival location and logistics. Our Executive Director and paid part time contractors will continue to train around HIV prevention and attend conferences and workshops nationwide to stay current on the information to educate the community around HIV prevention. We will independently research latest information regarding HIV related and mental health information and figure out art disciplines that would effectively educate the community and what we can make apart of our Art Heals festival. People Living with HIV/AIDS, people living with mental health conditions, and community members will be educated around art therapy aim to manage behaviors, process feelings, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase self-esteem in mind and body. A big component of the Art Heals Festival will be Forum Theatre, an alternate style of theatre developed by Augusto Boal in Theatre of the Oppressed. Actors are charged with taking audience members from their role of the spectator to that of the “spectactor.” With the fourth wall removed, audience members get to watch a play from start to finish and witness a real-world scenario of oppression. Even better, they have to do something about it. The story is real, embodied, and happening all around you. We will model this component after Trinity University Undergraduate Research in the Arts and Humanities' Mellon Initiative group, “End Stigma, End HIV/AIDS: A Forum Theatre Project. This project incorporates Forum Theatre form of art with the world of HIV/AIDS research and activism. Their project asked the loaded question: can this art form be used to empower and prepare a group of people to tackle circumstances of oppression in their own lives? As researchers, and now actors, we were faced with the unique challenge of using data to paint a plausible and representative scenario of oppression faced by people who are HIV positive. Their rehearsals, took place on most weekdays from 7-10 pm that consisted of meditation, listening to interviews, immersing themselves in creating distressing and oppressive situations, and using their creativity to play with their intensity. We truly believe this is a very innovative approach and would use our skill sets of performing, producing, and directing theater productions to bring this to life at our Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Art Heals Festival. Visual Art will also be a huge part of the Art Heals Festival as well as various other forms of art. This goal is aligned with three of SUSTAIN content areas including Healing Justice, Mental Health, and Wellness/Wellbeing with using art as a educational and healing tool.