The One in Five
Yesterday was NAMI walks day in our area. It is one of my favorite days of the year.
If you have not heard of it, the National Alliance on Mental Illness puts on these walks every year to raise awareness for mental health challenges of all kinds. The walks exist to remind people, from every background and every shape and every form, that they are not alone. And even if you yourself are not living with a mental challenge (I prefer that term personally instead of illness, I don't think I am "ill", just have my own unique challenges, and just like you I am sure, I find ways to work around or through them).
My hunch is that you almost certainly know someone who is going through or has gone through something similar, though it may not be visible.
We all have our struggles in this space. And every human being deserves to be met with dignity and decency and compassion, regardless of anything they may have done, regardless of anything they may be carrying, their shape, form, identity and so on. None of that is relevant to me when it comes to wellness for living creatures, especially vulnerable ones!
I was browsing the vendor tables and came across an organization called Braveminds Academy, an accredited residential treatment facility for adolescent boys. I started talking with one of the people involved, who I will refer to here by first name (with his permission) as Alex. He told me about their work and the care they provide.
I felt myself stop and pay attention in a way I love when it arises. I felt the side of me that makes me feel vibrant and alive and protective and wanting to nurture.
Because I believe some things are worth fighting for and protecting. This IS, without a doubt in my mind, one of them.
Their focus is the roughly one in five adolescent boys experiencing abuse or a mental health crisis. About fifteen million kids in this country alone, as Braveminds estimates it.
That is roughly every high school in this country with dozens of boys in pain, quietly.
These are the kids and young teens Braveminds shows up for.
Alex also mentioned they were running a "drop the weight" challenge as part of their awareness work. You hold a lateral raise with dumbbells while explaining their mission, and then you name what you are letting go of as you drop the weights.
I want to be brutally honest about this. The past version of me might not have done it. Not because I was too good for it. Not anything in that vein. It was the smaller, more familiar voice and critic in me: how am I going to look? What will people think? Is the video going to be embarrassing? Do I feel worthy of being seen? Maybe you know the voice too? If that is the case, pull up a chair. You will find no judgement here.
I thought about it more. And I realized... this is not about me. It is not about me at all. 🤦
It is about those 1-in-5 human beings, the ones who deserve nurturing and protection and the kind of care some of us were lucky enough to take for granted as kids.
So I did the challenge. I knew it would be recorded. I knew it would be shared with the world publicly. I signed off on it being shared anyway. And what I named, as the thing I am continuing to practice letting go of, is when the imposter syndrome tries to sneak in.
I am not an imposter. You aren't. I often... well, not often. I sometimes feel like one. Again, I would bet the farm you are not.
After the challenge, I asked Alex if there was a way to donate to Braveminds. My first instinct was monetary support. Alex told me they do not currently have a way to accept donations, just their webpage where you can contact them or find out how to get the help they are offering.
The biggest thing that helps them right now is people getting the word out and spreading awareness that their services are out there and offering help to those who need it most.
So that is what this post is. The awareness. That is who this post is for.
If anything about their mission moves you, or if the 1-in-5 number sits with you the way it sat with me, I gently invite you to check them out. Maybe consider passing the link to someone. Maybe sit with the idea that millions of young boys are quietly carrying something (pain, abuse, mental health challenges or crisis) most adults around them cannot see.
Thank you, Alex. Thank you, Braveminds Academy, for what you are doing. I do not have better words than...beautiful and admirable, and simply the most right thing to do.
Or perhaps a better phrase is the morals and integrity displayed and given to these vulnerable humans is the right thing to do. I hope that everyone at Braveminds Academy is truly proud of what they are doing. They deserve that.
If you are reading this and have ideas for how others or how I might support this cause beyond awareness, please let me know. The invitation is sincere, and my contact info is at the top, I'll read it.
And if you made it this far and read this, thank you. It means a lot.
--Drew 🪷
