Behavioral Health Resource Center
Portland
2022
Portland
2022
Regional Arts Culture Council
SE Oak and 16th
SE Oak and 16th
The Behavioral Health Resource Center is a step towards closing the gap between mental health service disparities. This can change lifetime pathways and generational cycles of repeated disparity. This mural is made to feel open, safe, welcoming, informative and a source of hope for anyone that sees it.
My proposed design is rooted a vision to create collective mental wellness for all. A mural that reflects
the importance of this space where the mind-body connection moves beyond healing trauma but also
into full long-term support for individuals in need.
“We hypothesize that people with mental illness face 4 major hurdles in obtaining appropriate healthcare, namely the high non monetary cost due to stigma, the high out-of-pocket payment due to insufficient public funds devoted to mental health, the high time costs due to low mental healthcare resource availability, and the low treatment benefit due to slow technology diffusion.” The Journal of Healthcare Organization
What keeps us from getting the help we need is shame, lack of information, lack of insurance and financial stability. There are barriers to care for all, especially for those with marginalized identities. All these things prevent us from changing our thinking and improving the quality of our life through healing.
A design that says there should be no shame or guilt around mental health issues or mental illness. Art has the ability to open up conversations about these issues a lot of people face everyday and remove the stigma around it. Throughout our lives we learn to find comfort in the trauma, anxiety, pain, loneliness, isolation, and abusive aspects of life. Resource centers are there to show there is hope and help out there. It’s extremely hard to understand what comfort means, what it means to not be on survival mode, what it felt like before anxiety and trauma. What is means to finally ask for help, which is always the hardest step. We should know we deserve to get help and have access to the information we need no matter our financial situation, history, race or lifestyle.
This design proposal comes from my own experience as a survivor with PTSD and depression, and also from the experiences of those closest to me. Therapy and support systems profoundly changed my life. I share my story constantly and proudly to hopefully inspire others who deal with similar issues.
Photography Haley Busch / Assistant Painters Nash England
“We hypothesize that people with mental illness face 4 major hurdles in obtaining appropriate healthcare, namely the high non monetary cost due to stigma, the high out-of-pocket payment due to insufficient public funds devoted to mental health, the high time costs due to low mental healthcare resource availability, and the low treatment benefit due to slow technology diffusion.” The Journal of Healthcare Organization
What keeps us from getting the help we need is shame, lack of information, lack of insurance and financial stability. There are barriers to care for all, especially for those with marginalized identities. All these things prevent us from changing our thinking and improving the quality of our life through healing.
A design that says there should be no shame or guilt around mental health issues or mental illness. Art has the ability to open up conversations about these issues a lot of people face everyday and remove the stigma around it. Throughout our lives we learn to find comfort in the trauma, anxiety, pain, loneliness, isolation, and abusive aspects of life. Resource centers are there to show there is hope and help out there. It’s extremely hard to understand what comfort means, what it means to not be on survival mode, what it felt like before anxiety and trauma. What is means to finally ask for help, which is always the hardest step. We should know we deserve to get help and have access to the information we need no matter our financial situation, history, race or lifestyle.
This design proposal comes from my own experience as a survivor with PTSD and depression, and also from the experiences of those closest to me. Therapy and support systems profoundly changed my life. I share my story constantly and proudly to hopefully inspire others who deal with similar issues.
Photography Haley Busch / Assistant Painters Nash England
Finished mural
November 11
2022
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