LGBTQIA+ Youth and COVID-19

**Trigger Warning: Transphobia/Homophobia and Violence** June is Pride Month! Happy Pride to all. I would like to preface this post by mentioning that I am a white woman who benefits all from white, cisgender, and heterosexual privilege, and I am writing this as an...

Racism and Mental Health

**Trigger Warning: Racial Violence / Police Violence ** I would like to preface this post by mentioning that I am a white person who benefits from white privilege, and I am writing this as an ally to the Black community. I stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter...

College Mental Health and COVID-19

When the University of Richmond announced that learning would switch to entirely remote education due to COVID-19, my heart sunk as I scrolled through the email. I knew it was coming amidst the plethora of bad news, but leaving Richmond for the rest of the year felt...

Proposed State Budget Great Opportunity for Mental Health

[Condensed from our opinion column published March 2, 2020 in the Richmond Times Dispatch.] Virginia ranks 37th out of 51 states and the District of Columbia in terms of ease of access to mental health care. For years Virginia has funded hospital beds at the expense...

Advocacy Day 2020

There was a mother who lost her son to addiction and suicide. A Navy veteran described not being able to find help when discharged from service. The Occupational Therapist spoke of overwhelming workloads providing early intervention support for...