YMHLC member highlight: Mariama Bah

The 2022-2023 Psychological Well being America Younger Psychological Well being Leaders Council (YMHLC) represents younger leaders from throughout the U.S. who’ve created applications and initiatives that fill gaps in conventional psychological well being providers of their communities. This 12 months’s cohort is working to deal with psychological well being throughout many areas together with training, housing, foster care, habit restoration, and state-level coverage.

Over the following a number of weeks, get to know the ten superb people utilizing their lived expertise and youth perspective to make large variations within the lives of these round them.

Title: Mariama Bah
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina (emigrated from Guinea in 2009)
College: Georgia Southern College
Management and different positions: Founding father of Nation of Variety, a nonprofit group that focuses on lowering homelessness and elevating consciousness for psychological well being by inventive arts

headshot of Mariama Bah
Photograph submitted by Mariama Bah

Why did you need to be part of the YMHLC?

I really like the Psychological Well being America Youth Psychological Well being Leaders Council as a result of it offers younger folks the alternatives to advocate for psychological well being, they usually help and lead the council in a greater course. The YMHLC has helped me notice I’m not right here to remedy the world or to remedy psychological well being, however to boost the attention of it and produce folks collectively to point out compassion and love for others – as a result of all of us battle with psychological well being. Since I’ve joined the Leaders Council, my work has doubled, and I’ve extra alternatives with folks world wide attempting to attach with my nonprofit. I’m so grateful for this chance.

Inform us about your work and pursuits.

My nonprofit focuses on serving to adolescents and adults to deal with their psychological well being to forestall them from being homeless. We do that by offering a peer group inventive arts house, doing all kinds of arts to speak about psychological well being and help each other whereas creating on the similar time. I really feel like we’re all too near being homeless, and on daily basis we now have to work additional arduous mentally to be comfy on this world. Each different week we give to folks experiencing homelessness sizzling meals and hygiene kits, together with some inspiring paintings to maintain going and native sources for shelter and remedy wants.

What’s the largest lesson you’ve got realized from different YMHLC members?

We’re right here to boost consciousness and assist others as a lot as we are able to within the midst of all that we now have to maintain ourselves. All of us get so caught up giving to others, which as an individual who loves to offer won’t ever cease, however I must maintain myself within the course of, too, and to maintain remembering that I’m not right here to remedy psychological well being.

What are your psychological well being advocacy targets?

I need to retailer confidence in folks and make them notice they’re particular, that every certainly one of us on this world is completely different and all of us have a objective and one thing to supply and train each other. I consider all of us have particular presents, and we are able to make the most of these presents to unfold love.Simply because you’ve got anxieties, melancholy, or different sickness, it would not outline you. You’re nonetheless stunning.

woman in headscarf and IDONTMIND shirt stands in front of colorful and vibrant background holding up fingers in V
Photograph submitted by Photograph submitted by Mariama Bah