Mental Health

What gaps exist in our mental health system?

Queer St. Louisans share their experiences around policing, psychiatric wards, therapy, insurance, waitlists, and virtual community ⬇️

Photo of Eileen Cheong (she / they)

“Seeing other people make it through, that really helps. Being able to be in online spaces and being able to talk to other people that way. When I was too afraid to say anything in public connected to my actual physical being, it was a lot easier to kind of put that foot out there online.”

– Len Wood (they/them)

“I think community for sure plays a lot into balancing my mental health and helping me feel at peace.”

– Drake (he/him)

Photo of River Allen Chew (they/them)

Photo of Talia Percy (they / she / he)

“It's hard to get a [therapy] appointment. That's always a real struggle and I feel like that's a problem, especially when you're in a mental health crisis, the whole process of finding a therapist is just another burden.”

– Alexis Nichole (she / they / star)

Photo of Alyssa Brown (she/her)

“If I have to go to the psych ward, I don't feel connected to my community. I don't feel connected to my body. People will go to a psych ward without their own consent. So then it's like, there's no choice and to some extent you might become a robot, and you are doing what you need to do to get out. Cause that's what I did. Like, ‘oh, okay. I have to go through these programs and be quiet and smile.’”

– Alexis Nichole (she / they / star)

Photo of Zee Hyams (she / they)

Photo of Zee & Rockette Jaros (they/them)

(On the topic of the CVPA school shooter) “The police are saying his family did the best they could. When they saw that he had these guns, they took him to the mental health facilities. But these mental health facilities, you learn the system quickly. You learn what to say to get out of there. Where did we leave this child behind? Where was it missed in a report? All that I see is people holding space for the victims. And I understand the pace at which our city needs to heal. But also it hurts me to think that somebody felt outcast in all of their communities, their family systems, school systems, whatever other systems they were a part of, they felt outcast to that point.”

– Alexis Nichole (she / they / star)

Photo of Ben Greene (he/him)

“I'm honestly a proponent of basically everybody could probably use going to therapy at least once or twice, and [be able to] access [therapy] without having to pay a bunch of money.”

– Len Wood (they/them)

Photo of Rhea Eckman (they / he)

What gaps exist in our mental healthcare system?

  • Insurance issues with coverage & affordability. Long waitlists & still not getting the needed care. Mental health professionals that further marginalized people.

    I would make it so people of all identities have options for care & can get things like art therapy, etc.