Strength Over Silence

Stories Of Courage, Culture And Community

In this ongoing docuseries, NAMI highlights perspectives on mental health across backgrounds and communities. Through candid and courageous stories of lived experience, these mental health champions share their resilience and recovery, emphasizing the importance of culture and identity in the mental health movement.

Collecting Hats & Crushing Stigma In The Asian-American Community

Nao Gamo is a neuroscientist and entrepreneur who speaks about living with bipolar disorder. While experiencing an episode of mania, she ended up accumulating an expansive collection of hats. Her experience led to her wanting to educate about how mental illness can manifest uniquely in people and that there is nothing to be ashamed of, particularly within the AAPI community.

A Mother’s Vow Of Mental Health Advocacy For Her Daughter

When Joseline Castaños’s daughter was hospitalized for a suicide attempt, she vowed to fight for her and find the right care. The stigma surrounding mental health in the Hispanic/Latinx community and the scarcity of culturally competent care were two of the biggest barriers she faced. Through NAMI, she found a safe place, support for her daughter and a platform to continue advocating for mental health in her community.

Shattering Racial Stereotypes

“Shout it from the rooftops,” Charita Cole Brown’s powerful voice fills the room as she proclaims it is time to stop whispering about mental illness. The author, educator, and NAMI presenter and facilitator discusses shattering the stereotype of a strong Black woman in her memoir, Defying the Verdict: My Bipolar Life, and advocating for mental health resources in the Black community.

Finding Peace With Mental Illness

Yulanda Ming Blackston, a NAMI In Our Own Voice presenter shares how she found peace with her mental illness while being part of a faith community.

LGBTQ+ Mental Health: Inhabiting The Space That Wasn’t Built For You

Rosemary Ketchum, the first-ever politically elected trans woman in the state of West Virginia, addresses the need for LGBTQ+ people to have a place in the room advocating for social change and a stigma-free world.

From Secrets To Strength

NAMI ambassador Poojah Mehta shares her experience with panic attacks, her recovery and why she is passionate about amplifying the voices of people who are underrepresented in their communities.

More Strength Over Silence Stories

Chris Hubbard: Tackling Mental Health Stigma
NAMI Ambassador Chris Hubbard, offensive tackle for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, takes us on a journey back to his hometown of Columbus, GA, where he shares the unique challenges of playing competitive sports, encourages young athletes to take care of their mental health and relays the importance of asking for help.

Barbershop Confessions
Meet Lorenzo Lewis, founder of The Confess Project, and learn how he uses barbershops across America as platforms to start conversations and spread hope and healing in the Black community.

Bipolar Disorder Is My Superpower
NAMI Ambassador A.J. Mendez, author, advocate and former World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) wrestler, shares her mental health advice to Hispanic/Latinx families and why she believes her bipolar disorder is a gift.

Creating a Safe Place
After illuminating myths about mental illness in her church community, advocate Jasmin Pierre created “The Safe Place” app, where the Black community can access culturally inspired information and support.