Brave Brochure
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2022 Dancers in the College Edition at the University of South Florida<br />
T H E P R O B L E M<br />
According to SAMHSA, every year, over 46 million<br />
people experience a mental illness, and 46.3 million<br />
people face substance use conditions.<br />
Nearly 60% of adults with a mental illness did not receive<br />
treatment in the previous year.<br />
Suicide takes the lives of over 47,511 Americans every<br />
year.<br />
10.3% of Americans have thought about suicide.<br />
90% of those who die by suicide have an underlying<br />
mental illness at the time of their death.<br />
Serious mental illness costs in the U.S. amount to $193.2<br />
billion in lost earnings per year.<br />
Each year, an<br />
estimated<br />
46 Million<br />
adults<br />
experience<br />
mental illness<br />
The world is facing an unprecedented mental health crisis, exacerbated by factors such as<br />
societal pressures, economic uncertainty, and the lingering effects of a global pandemic.<br />
According to the World Health Organization, mental health conditions affect one in four people<br />
worldwide, making it a critical public health concern. To address these conditions and the stigma<br />
associated with them, we offer our platform for virtual and live shows in which ordinary people<br />
share their extraordinary stories of recovery to offer hope and let others know they are not<br />
alone.<br />
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2019 DeKalb IL Cast<br />
O U R S T O R Y<br />
This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> was co-founded by<br />
Anne-Marie Ames (1967-2017) and<br />
Jennifer Marshall in 2014. Jennifer’s<br />
experience as the writer of the blog<br />
entitled “Bipolar Mom Life” led to the<br />
creation of This Is My <strong>Brave</strong>. Out of fear<br />
of stigma, Jennifer blogged anonymously<br />
until she was inspired by others to reveal<br />
her true identity. Jennifer’s decision to<br />
put her name and her face on her blog<br />
post was celebrated and she received<br />
many heartwarming messages of<br />
appreciation for her transparency.<br />
Our Mission<br />
This Is My <strong>Brave</strong>’s mission is to end the<br />
stigma associated with mental health and<br />
substance use conditions using the<br />
powerful art of storytelling. We achieve this<br />
by producing live and virtual events in<br />
which ordinary people share their<br />
extraordinary stories of recovery in order to<br />
offer hope and let others know they are not<br />
alone.<br />
This experience sparked the idea for This Is My <strong>Brave</strong>: Live theatrical events where individuals are<br />
empowered to share their personal stories of hope and recovery using the performing arts to break<br />
down stigma. The very first <strong>Brave</strong> show took place in Arlington, Virginia. The success and impact of<br />
that event have been replicated in cities around the country ever since.<br />
As a result, This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> is now the leading national mental health storytelling nonprofit.<br />
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This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> creates opportunities<br />
for individuals to share their stories<br />
on and off the stage.<br />
On the Stage | In the Spotlight<br />
This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> - The Show - Our flagship program of professionally<br />
produced mental health storytelling events featuring individuals<br />
from the community; 12 shows per year in cities across the US.<br />
Specialized This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> Virtual Shows<br />
TIMB Stories from the Black Community<br />
TIMB Stories from the APIDA Community<br />
TIMB Stories from the College Athlete Community<br />
TIMB Stories from the Veteran Community<br />
This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> - College Edition - College storytelling program<br />
launched in 2019 in Boston through grants from Alkermes and<br />
Ruderman Family Foundation; Year 2 of our College Edition featured<br />
6 student storytellers in the Boston area, and in 2021, our <strong>Brave</strong><br />
Ambassador program was created and launched as a springboard to<br />
bring more awareness of This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> to campuses across the<br />
country through passionate student advocates.<br />
This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> - High School Edition - Created in 2019, our high<br />
school program features high school and college students sharing<br />
their stories to break down stigma and educate their peers and the<br />
adults in their lives.<br />
OUR TURN TO TALK - A podcast for teens, the first season of which<br />
was sponsored by <strong>Brave</strong> and features our national teen storytellers.<br />
Available where you get your podcasts or at:<br />
ht tps : //w w w.our t ur ntot alk .c om /<br />
OUR TURN TO TALK - A documentary film focused on teenagers who<br />
say they’re the generation to put an end to mental health stigma.<br />
To do it, they’re telling their own stories – raw and unfiltered.<br />
From skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression to the impacts<br />
of racial and intergenerational trauma, these teens share their<br />
struggles and triumphs and carry a powerful message: Storytelling<br />
saves lives. [Released in Oct 2022; a production of Principle Pictures<br />
for WETA in partnership with WellBeings.org]<br />
<strong>Brave</strong>TV - A livestreamed series now two seasons strong - featuring<br />
alumni storytellers and mental health experts covering mental<br />
health topics, including COVID-19, current affairs and more.<br />
<strong>Brave</strong> Beyond the Stage - Our virtual initiative to check in with our<br />
<strong>Brave</strong> Alumni and see where they are today. We’re having candid<br />
conversations to hear about their experience on the <strong>Brave</strong> stage<br />
and beyond.<br />
Off the Stage | One-on-One<br />
<strong>Brave</strong> Ambassadors - Our new program for individuals to become<br />
ground level, off the stage storytellers for This Is My <strong>Brave</strong>. We know<br />
people have the power to influence their peers and open up the<br />
conversation around mental health to change minds and lives at the<br />
grassroots level.<br />
<strong>Brave</strong> the Storm 5K - A virtual 5k in which participants are invited to<br />
run, walk, or hike in the location of their choice and be a part of the<br />
inspiration and movement to end the stigma around mental illness.<br />
We invite participants to participate for reasons that are important<br />
to them — for health, for well-being, for a loved one. Whatever their<br />
motivation may be, all are encouraged to join us and help spread a<br />
message of hope.<br />
Jay Walkers - A challenge for the month of September (which is<br />
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month) designed to break the stigma<br />
surrounding mental health and suicide. Participants are asked to<br />
form a team to complete 800,000 steps in 30 days to honor every<br />
life lost worldwide each year to suicide. Start conversations about<br />
suicide with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors to break<br />
down the barriers that stand in the way of people getting help. Jay<br />
Walkers are encouraged to share their own stories and let others<br />
know it’s safe to share theirs.<br />
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This Is My <strong>Brave</strong>’s Impact<br />
Since 2014, This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> has...<br />
Produced<br />
110<br />
shows<br />
with over<br />
1000 story<br />
tellers<br />
18,500+<br />
audience<br />
members<br />
in 53 cities<br />
in the U.S.<br />
& Australia<br />
& 300k<br />
YouTube<br />
video views<br />
Thus far, over 1000 stories have been shared through our live shows and more via our<br />
digital platforms. Live shows are professionally filmed and published to our YouTube<br />
channel: youtube.com/thisismybrave<br />
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2018 Houston TX Cast
B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S<br />
Board Chair: Jessica Kennedy is the Chief of Staff and Vice President of Finance at<br />
Mental Health America, where she has worked for over a decade. An expert in<br />
nonprofit management, she began her career in operations before expanding her focus<br />
to screening, workplace mental health, public education, digital marketing, mental<br />
health policy, and program management. Jessica developed and launched Mental Health<br />
America’s online screening program in 2014; the program has since collected nearly five<br />
million mental health screens and is recognized as the largest database of mental health<br />
screens in the world.<br />
Board Member: Adam Bromberg is a Director of Public Affairs at the Charles Schwab<br />
Corporation. Prior to that role he was a senior vice president at a public affairs firm in<br />
Alexandria, VA. For over 20 years at the firm, he supervised the development and<br />
implementation of communications strategy for a variety of Fortune 500 corporations,<br />
associations and public policy groups.<br />
Board Secretary: Kyaien Conner, Ph.D., LSW, MPH Professor and Donald M.<br />
Henderson Endowed Chair, Director of the Center on Race and Social Problems<br />
(CRSP) and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Conner received<br />
her BS in Psychology, MSW, MPH with a specialization in Minority Health and<br />
Health Disparities, and a PhD in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr.<br />
Conner has received several awards for her work including the Distinguished Alumni<br />
Award (University of Pittsburgh, 2023), Chancellors Award for Excellence in Civic<br />
and Community Engagement, (University of South Florida, 2022), and Black Faculty<br />
Member of the year (University of South Florida, 2021).<br />
Co-Founder: Jennifer Marshall was diagnosed with Type 1 Bipolar Disorder in 2006 at<br />
the age of 26. She’s had four hospitalizations within five years – two in 2005 before<br />
any diagnosis was reached, and two more because she was trying to protect her<br />
newborn son (postpartum psychosis) in 2008 and her unborn daughter in 2010 – and<br />
all were because she was unmedicated at the time. Writing her way through life with a<br />
mental illness became her way of healing, and her award-winning blog BipolarMomLife<br />
became an inspiration to many. Jenn created This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> because she learned<br />
firsthand how powerful it was to live openly and not hide her diagnosis. She wanted to<br />
give brave individuals from the community a platform to creatively share their stories<br />
of living with mental illness to educate and inspire others. She lives outside<br />
Washington, DC with her husband and two children.
“It’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience.<br />
I honestly didn’t realize how much support I had<br />
in my friends/family until the night of the show<br />
when I saw everyone’s faces in the audience. It<br />
has also given me much more confidence to<br />
speak my truth and my story, and continue to do<br />
so in the future. It has been so empowering to be<br />
more vocal about my struggles, and to know that<br />
I’m empowering others, too.”<br />
Gianna Santoro, 2018 Philadelphia Show<br />
“I think that, for me, performing on<br />
stage gave me a sense of relief.<br />
Keeping stuff like this bottled in you<br />
for quite some time, it's quite painful.”<br />
Cyril Koomsom, 2023 Penn State<br />
Abington Show<br />
Brandy Mimms, 2023 Deafinitely Inc <strong>Brave</strong> Show<br />
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“Performing in This Is My <strong>Brave</strong> was transformative. I love my fellow cast members. I got to be brave and<br />
share my personal experience with mental illness on stage in front of 300 people. Strangers approached<br />
me after the show to tell me that my story gave them hope. Everything about this experience has been<br />
incredible.” -Sarah Wissig, 2019 Orlando Show
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