PLANTATION, Fla. – Mental Illness impacts 1 in 4 Americans, carrying with it a stigma that disproportionately affects many minorities.
For much of her life, Robena Richardson has lived with depression and severe social anxiety.
“I had difficulty perceiving the world around me and taking it in so what I did was sort of went inside myself,” said Richardson.
She turned to photography as a way to escape from the voices in the mind and connect, if even for a moment, with the real world around her.
Becoming closer with nature also gave Richardson greater introspection about what she was experiencing, she said.
“I do think it’s time for us to consider within the Black community the fear of the language used around mental illness,” she said.
That’s what the National Alliance for Mental Illness, or NAMI, is all about.
Dr. Sandra Cumper Boyton is executive director of the Broward Chapter of NAMI.
“There’s a mental health inequality that we’re not seen, or given, or promoted within Black communities,” Boyton said.
The organization is focused on encouraging the Black community to let go of the stigma and reach out for help from qualified professionals.
“African-Americans would rather reach out to a pastor or a neighbor as opposed to a professional. The bottom line is mental health is real, people do recover from mental illness and they need to be educated about it,” Boyton said.
Richardson was ultimately trained as a peer counselor and mentor at NAMI Broward and has helped others overcome their mental health hurdles.
“It reinforces to me that my existence alone is my value,” she said.
The NAMI organization includes more than 30 affiliates and 2,000 members across the state of Florida.
For information, go to namibroward.org.