We Rise LA Dismantles Mental Illness Stereotypes

Men­tal ill­ness is a seri­ous issue that many indi­vid­u­als do not address due to the stig­ma soci­eties have linked to it. For many years now this com­mu­ni­ty has been cat­e­go­rized as “crazy”. How­ev­er, it is impor­tant to under­stand that these stereo­types are in fact inac­cu­rate descrip­tions of men­tal ill­ness. The Los Ange­les Coun­ty Depart­ment of Men­tal Health has cre­at­ed the “We Rise LA” 10-day fes­ti­val to raise aware­ness for men­tal health, espe­cial­ly in the youth com­mu­ni­ty, and as well as end­ing these neg­a­tive beliefs. We Rise LA presents art, music and work­shops done by more than 150 pow­er­ful and moti­va­tion­al artists like Com­mon, Nick Can­non, and the Black Eyes Peas.

Pho­to: Cristina_Pacheco Insta­gram

Hav­ing artists per­form in We Rise LA, like the ones men­tioned above, gives this move­ment the oppor­tu­ni­ty to strong­ly impact the LA com­mu­ni­ty. Today, artists have such a pow­er­ful plat­form that allows them to influ­ence those who lis­ten and look up to them. It is impor­tant to have pop cul­ture and artists address men­tal health because through their art and words indi­vid­u­als will be edu­cat­ed on this mat­ter and will rec­og­nize the rea­sons why it is some­thing that should be talked about more often. Now is the time to lose the fear of speak­ing about men­tal ill­ness and look­ing for help, We Rise LA is here to let you know you are not alone!

Blogged By: Mitzi Peña