Hope Is Living

Mental Health Resources for the Black Community  I wanted to get these resources out as soon as possible, so I will be updating this post as I find more resources or as they are recommended to me. Virtual Resources A great article highlighting virtual mental health resources from healthyish: 7 Virtual Mental Health Resources Supporting Black People Right Now Local (Pittsburgh) Resources Steel Smiling PGH Books The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System,  Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve  by Rheeda Walker, PhD Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman's Journey with Depression and Faith  by Monica A. Coleman Social Media Accounts (@Instagram handles) Blessing Manifesting (@blessingmanifesting) Alishia McCullough (@blackandembodied) Jessica Wilson, MS. RD. (@jessicawilson.msrd) Other Mental Health Resources Crisis Text Line is available 24/7 for anyone to text who is in crisis....

Flora - Stay Focused The point of the Flora app is to help you focus. It came up for me in the App Store when I searched for pomodoro timers, and looked like one of the cutest ones. If you complete your focus goals, you collect cute trees and plants in the app. You can also invite others to join you and try to focus together - the fate of your tree or plant depends on all of you completing your focus goal.  There are also ways to make monetary wagers against yourself and if you lose, that money goes to conservation efforts. You can also sign up for low cost paths that reward the environment with a tree if you complete more long - term goals.  I actually am using this app right now so I don’t get distracted check my phone while I am writing this blog post. I even had to take a break to change my alarm for tomorrow morning, and could very easily mark my break. As far as I can tell too, it’s more of a reminder to not look at other parts of your phone because you can ...

There are so many first responders and healthcare workers that are still working now - and often working overtime - to help us all survive this pandemic. They are risking their lives for us. Many of them are also risking the health of their family, or cannot see them right now. They often do not have the equipment they need for themselves or their patients, and are experiencing a lot of trauma while trying to save people’s lives. This is a very trying time for all of us, and it Is quite unimaginable for those of us on the frontlines.  “These front-line warriors are both the visible and invisible heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. They include the doctors and nurses we see in the hospitals and clinics and all the people behind the scenes—those who work in labs, food service, janitorial, security and so many others keeping these facilities running.” The Honor and Thank You initiative was started by Kathleen Kilmer, CEO of EasyEventPlanning.com. She said that she decided to...

Adapted from the eulogies from Seasons 2 Episode 3 of Thirteen Reasons Why.  One act does not define a life. We celebrate the richness of his life, even as the tragic circumstances of his death cannot be forgotten. Miles had the biggest heart, which he so generously shared with all of us. So please, be kind to each other. He dreamed of being a musician and artist. I’m not sure when that dream began to feel impossible to her. Miles was my dream. And now I get to dream for Miles as well as for myself, as so do all of you. So please, dream your dreams, and dream them for Miles, and don’t let anyone take the away from you. Don’t ever let them go. Miles came into my life for my senior year of high school like a star that fell to Earth. Like nothing I had seen, like no one I had ever met. He was funny, and smart, and moody, and... and maddening. And beautiful. And...I loved him. I loved him so much. And I ask him every day why he did what he did. B...

We are accepting submissions of creative writing (prose and poetry, fiction or nonfiction) relating to suicide prevention and mental health - whatever that means to you. This could include pieces that directly deal with suicide, ones about mental illness, or just about hard times and situations - it's really up to you. Please include trigger warnings where they are necessary; our editors can help if you are unsure of which are needed. You are welcome to submit longer pieces (~1,000+ words) but when we post it on the blog or put together our book collection, we will excerpt your piece. On the blog, we can still link to your full piece if you would like. If you have an idea of how you would like your piece excerpted, let us know when you submit it. Please submit pieces to hopeislivingnow@gmail.com with the subject line "Submission."

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