~I am joining the Disability March because I wholeheartedly want to participate in this event, and doing it in person was a hardship for me. I support equal rights for all people and creatures (including water and trees), I support LGBTQI2 equality, Black Lives Matter, Earth Healing and Respect, Social Justice of every kind, reproductive rights, freedom from violence and white supremacy, and many other movements that this march represents to me. I am an advocate for the reduction of stigma and discrimination based on mental health or illness. I have chosen to join the virtual march because my anxiety (social and otherwise) has interfered with my ability to be in public in crowds of the magnitude of the marches happening in my state. I am here to say that Recovery from mental health challenges is possible, and even probable with support and education, and that it is ok to talk about suicide, depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders, trauma, and any and all other forms of mental health and illness. Thank you for giving me the space and place to do this!
~I am a 46 year old single mama of a 17 year son, who will be marching in person, wearing the pink pussy hat I knitted for the occasion. I am a proud feminist who always has more to learn and is open and welcoming to intersectionality and examining my part in systems of oppression. I am a person with lived experience with addiction and mental illness and I am grateful to be in Recovery.