I am a mental health activist, peer-provider, writer, and public speaker from San Francisco. I come to each of these positions with many years as a patient in the mental health system. My experiences as a patient allow for me to help others feel less alone as they navigate the mental health system.
I founded Better Because Collective because of the many stories I had heard of how people were able to better their lives through the skills they learned throughout their journeys. I searched for an online community where I could immerse myself in these stories but, to my surprise, was unable to find anything like this. It was clear to me that people not only needed to share their own stories, but that they needed to read the stories of others in order to help one another grow and heal.
So, I created a platform for people to share, celebrate, and learn from personal stories of post-traumatic growth. My hope is that Better Because Collective will help individuals in the midst of mental health experiences to find hope, and that it will serve as a teaching tool for mental health practitioners as they learn about post-traumatic growth.