The mental health advocacy community has lost a quiet giant. Brian Lindstrom was a Portland, Oregon-based documentary filmmaker who devoted his career to telling the stories of people living with mental illnesses and the consequences of a judicial system that too often criminalizes them. He described his subjects as people ‘society puts an X through’…
Miami-Dade didn’t just join the movement to treat mental illness as health problems instead of crimes. It started it. Back in 1989, Miami-Dade opened the first drug court in the nation, betting on the idea that people struggling with substance use deserve treatment and accountability instead of a jail cell. That model has since spread…
Here’s What the Data Says… Mental health policy debates often focus on access and affordability. Those gaps are real, but they sit on top of something deeper: a system that has never treated brain health as a legitimate medical priority, and that has consistently failed the people most in need of it. Five fault lines…
Dr. Robin Jones In my professional life, I am accustomed to structure. I prepare, I plan, and I aim for specific therapeutic outcomes. But as any seasoned provider knows, the “room” often has its own agenda. During my recent wellness workshop at Mental Health America in West Palm Beach, I received a beautiful lesson in…
Help Instead of Jail for our Neighbors In the United States, jails and prisons have become the largest, de facto mental health providers. Facilities like New York’s Rikers Island, Los Angeles’ Twin Towers Jail, and Chicago’s Cook County Jail hold more patients with serious mental illness than any state hospital. Here in South Florida, the…
Flawless Resilience: Understanding Self-Harm and How to Help Self-Harm Awareness, Support, and Resources Trigger Warning: The following content includes discussion of self-harm and emotional distress. This may be triggering for some individuals. Call or text 988 for free, confidential support 24/7. Far too many people carry the weight of self-harm in secret, navigating a world…
Every year, World Sleep Day serves as a reminder of something many of us tend to overlook in our daily routines. Sleep is often the first thing we sacrifice when life becomes busy. We stay up a little later to finish work, scroll on our phones, answer emails, or watch just one more episode of…
Language has power. It can isolate or empower. By leveraging communications and digital platforms, we intentionally shape conversations about brain health to replace stereotypes with knowledge and myths with truth. Our work at Flawless Foundation centers on advancing informed perspectives around mental health in ways that are accessible and impactful. This message from our advisory…
Valentine’s Day ‘26 Edition Our feeds are often filled with media messages that leave us feeling depleted, making it hard to see the incredible inspiration happening across the mental health landscape. But the truth is, hope is winning. In just the past month, we have witnessed historic funding announcements and high-level conversations at Davos that…
By Jalyn Simms From a very young age, most of us are taught that maintaining good health requires consistency and discipline. To care for our gums, we brush and floss daily. To stay strong, we eat balanced meals. To maintain healthy hair, we follow a regular routine. We’re taught, in great detail, how to take…