Resources for (Un)Learning

• What is mental health?

• Mental Illness Experiences

• What is Disability Justice?

• Race and Mental Health

CRISIS SUPPORT

Crisis situations often stem from multiple unaddressed issues with a person’s ability to exist comfortably in their environment. Whether you are in crisis, approaching crisis, or supporting someone in crisis — slow down, take a moment to sense what is happening in your body, and remember that you do not need to navigate this alone.

I need immediate crisis support.

Check out crisis lines that do not work with police below.

PROJECT LETS PEER SUPPORT SERVICES:

1. Our intake form is currently closed.

2. Text 401-400-2905 for urgent support with psychiatric incarceration/involuntary hospitalization. Hours of operation are: Monday-Saturday, 10:00 AM EST-4:00 PM EST.
   

OTHER CRISIS RESOURCES:

• Create a safety plan or Psychiatric Advance Directive

• Peer Respite Centers

• Emergency Action for Panic Attacks

• Questions to Ask Before Giving Up

• Crisis Information: Important Stuff to Know Beyond Awareness

• The Project LETS Crisis Approach

I am supporting a friend or loved one in crisis.

The important part of helping a peer or loved one is to understand that you are there to offer support, guidance, resources, and care — but it is up to them to decide how and when they access support, and what type of support to access.

• Who determined the crisis? Many times, our own lack of skills, fears, internalized ableism & sanism can contribute to situations where we perceive to be a crisis. Be direct and transparent.

• Create a sanctuary and help meet basic needs: Has this person slept? Eaten? Taken drugs or new medications? Has something happened recently in their life? What kind of environment will be supportive?

• Honor resistance: If your friend or loved one does not want help, then be patient. Perhaps remind them of their options now and then, but try not to pressure them. If you are worried about their safety or that they are going to hurt themselves somehow, partner with them towards a collaborative response.

• Find a method of communication that works: Don’t force verbal communication or speaking.
  

POLICE & WELLNESS CHECKS:

• Involuntary hospitalization has been shown to increase the risk of suicide.

• Many community members who experience involuntary hospitalization view it as incarceration. Wellness checks and police involvement can be deadly, particularly for Black and Indigenous Disabled and Mad folks.
  

OTHER RESOURCES:

• Common Mistakes We Make Supporting Others & What to Do Differently

• What Stops us from Supporting? Barriers to Intervention

What happens in a psychiatric ward?

Resource coming soon.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO CHECK OUT:

• Fireweed Collective: Crisis Toolkit

• Project LETS Anti-Carceral Safety Plan

I need help finding a mental health provider.

Project LETS believes that we all deserve access to culturally, socially, and structurally competent healing- on our own terms. We are building out a network of providers and healers who are committed to providing sliding scale/pro-bono services to folks within our community. 

You can: email us at support@projectlets.org for support in connecting with an anti-oppressive mental health provider.

Other Resources:

• Abolitionist Care Provider Database

• National Queer and Trans Therapist of Color Network

• Psychology Today

• Therapy for Black Girls 

• Zencare

I need to build my coping skills.

• Unpacking self-harm

• Alternatives to self-harm

• Building better coping skills

• Self-care/collective care strategies // (Spanish version)

• Zine: Dealing with intrusive thoughts

I (or someone I know) has experienced a trauma.

• Trauma Resource Google Drive: Click here to access a Trauma Resource Drive, full of PDF's, documents, and workbooks related to trauma. [Curated by Project LETS]

• How Magic Helps Me Live with Pain and Trauma
   

• Resiliency Skills to Practice for Trauma Recovery

I need to know my educational rights.

Important Resources:

• A Primer: Student Educational Rights
• What to Know Before Applying to College
• Accessing Care at College

• The National Empowerment Center

• The JED Foundation - Student Mental Health and the Law

• NAMI Student Resources

• Disclosing Information

• Filing a Grievance to the OCR (Office of Civil Rights)

• Psychiatric Advance Directives

Project LETS believes that one of the greatest equalizing factors in our society is higher education. Historically, mentally ill & neurodivergent students have been left out, discriminated against, and unable to matriculate with other able-bodied students; and this is still a reality for our most marginalized students. 

Did you know: Under Title II and Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, institutions are required to provide accommodations for students with both visible and invisible disabilities.

You can:

1. Submit a University Report to Project LETS notifying our organization of the policy, behavior, or issue. 
2. Learn what laws you're protected by 
3. Request a National PMHA to support you [PMHAs can help provide emotional support, or provide more advocacy-related services, such as helping to file a grievance report] 
4. Request a meeting with our team via phone, video conference, or in-person to discuss on-campus efforts and how to address ongoing challenges.
5. Project LETS can provide direct assistance to students who are currently navigating an on-campus disability-related process [such as: medical leave]

I need legal advocacy support.

• Bazelon Mental Health Law Center
• Transgender Law Center

More resources are coming soon.

I was, or someone I know is, being held involuntarily.

Every state has different laws and policies surrounding involuntary hospitalization. Check out Know the Laws in Your State: The Treatment Advocacy Center.

From the Treatment Advocacy Center: "Three forms of involuntary treatment are authorized by civil commitment laws in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Two forms are available in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and Tennessee, where court-ordered outpatient treatment has not yet been adopted.

• Emergency hospitalization for evaluation is a crisis response in which a patient is admitted to a treatment facility for psychiatric evaluation, typically for a short period of fixed time (e.g., 72 hours). "Psychiatric hold" or "pick-up" and other terms may be used to describe the process.
   
• Inpatient civil commitment is a process in which a judge orders hospital treatment for a person who continues to meet the state’s civil commitment criteria after the emergency evaluation period. Inpatient commitment is practiced in all states, but the standards that qualify an individual for it vary from state to state. “Involuntary hospitalization” or another term may be used to describe the practice.
   
• Outpatient civil commitment or “assisted outpatient treatment (AOT)“ is a treatment option in which a judge orders a qualifying person with symptoms of mental illness to adhere to a mental health treatment plan while living in the community. AOT laws have been passed in 46 states, but the standards for its use vary from state to state. “Outpatient commitment,” “involuntary outpatient commitment,” “mandated outpatient treatment” and other terms may be used to describe the practice."

Other resources:

• A Primer: Psychiatric Hospitalizations
• Mental Health America: Position Statement
• Essential information on who may initiate proceedings leading to mandatory treatment
• State standards for emergency hospitalization for a psychiatric evaluation

I was, or someone I know, is
incarcerated due to their mental illness or disability.

ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND INCARCERATION (MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA)

1.2 million individuals living with mental illness sit in jail and prison each year. Often their involvement with the criminal justice system begins with low-level offenses like jaywalking, disorderly conduct, or trespassing.

The states with less access to mental health care have more adults who are in the criminal justice system. Six out of 10 of the states with the least access to mental health care also have the highest rates of incarceration.

These states include: Alabama; Arkansas; Mississippi; Texas; Georgia; and Florida

Get Help:

• Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf (HEARD): an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that promotes equal access to legal system for individuals who are deaf and for people with disabilities.  HEARD primarily focuses on correcting and preventing deaf wrongful convictions, ending deaf prisoner abuse, decreasing recidivism rates for deaf returned citizens, and on increasing representation of the deaf in the justice, legal and corrections professions. HEARD created and maintains the only national database of deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind detainees & prisoners.

Learn:

• Incarceration and Mental Illness (Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights)

I am, or someone I know, is without a home.

Resources are coming soon.

I am, or someone I know, is experiencing economic insecurity.

Resources are coming soon.

Gender Basics

Trans 101: 

• Transgender 101: A Guide to Gender and Identity to Help You Keep Up with the Conversation

Non-binary 101: 

• Understanding Non-Binary People: How to Be Respectful and Supportive
• Too Queer for Your Binary: Everything You Need to Know and More About Non-Binary Identities
• 4 Things That Suck About Going To The Doctor As A Gender Non-Binary Person 
• What is a nonbinary gender? | Riley J. Dennis
• How Non-Binary Identities Show What Society Gets Wrong About Gender
• Gender 101 from the Seattle Non-Binary Collective
• What It Means To Call Ourselves Non-Binary: An Autostraddle Roundtable

On How to Do Your Own Work

How to apologize and take responsibility for educating yourself:  

• How to make a good apology | Riley J. Dennis 
• Cis Writers: Do your fucking homework before you write about trans people
• Sometimes "I'm Sorry" Isn't Enough
• 8 Things Transgender People Do Not Owe You

Videos