IDHA Healing as Homecoming Festival: Movement Lineages Panel (12/4/22)

IDHA grows out of the lineages of many social movements. From psychiatric survivors, to the consumer/survivor/ex-patient (c/s/x) movement, to mad pride and beyond, we are steeped in rich histories of resistance. We are also increasingly shaped by the growing number of cross-movement struggles for liberation that strive for healing, safety, and care such as transformative justice, healing justice, prison abolition, and so many more. Cross-movement organizing is a core part of IDHA’s strategy because as Audre Lorde says, “there is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” This panel provides an opportunity for us to pay homage to the activists and survivors that came before us, and take stock of where we are today in movement organizing efforts for mad liberation, disability justice, and transformative mental health. Panelists will reflect on how radical mental health organizing has shifted and evolved over the past several decades, and share key lessons that can inform future work.


Disability Justice in Birth and Parenting with Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu


RebPsych 2022: Resistance to/Liberation from Colonial Mental Health: Psychiatric Survivors and Mad Healers in a Global Context


Disability & Philanthropy Webinar Series: Mental Health and Disability

Within the last couple of years, we have collectively faced trauma and experienced COVID-19’s impact on our mental health. A 2021 mental health report found that “seventy-six percent of respondents reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition in the past year, up from 59% in 2019.” This underscores why it’s crucial to understand the ways in which mental health is part of the larger umbrella of disability and why we must engage in long overdue conversations about caring for our mental health. How can foundations support the mental health of their employees, recognizing the rights of their employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act? What actions do foundation leaders need to be taking in view of the current mental health crisis engendered by the ongoing pandemic and racial justice issues? And how does meaningfully focusing on mental health lead to greater equity, inclusion, and ultimately, justice? Join The California Endowment's President and CEO Dr. Robert Ross in conversation with Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu, Founder and Executive Director of Project LETS; Marq Mitchell, CEO and Founder of Chainless Change; and Keris Jän Myrick, Co-Director of S2i to explore the connections between racial equity, disability rights, and mental health.


KEYNOTE: Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu: How to Make Your Comms Inclusive and Accessible


TEDx Talk: Hearing Our Voices

When trying to solve this problem of lack of support for college students with mental illness, many people look to outsiders with specific credentials; but Project LETS believes that a solution lies with the very people who experience the problem. During this talk, Stefanie will discuss: the founding story of Project LETS, developing the Peer Mental Health Advocate (PMHA) program model at Brown, her experience with psychiatric disability and sexual assault, and integrating a social model of disability into mental health care treatment.


RebPsych 2020

Critical Mental Health is a concept developed by psychologist Ignacio Martín-Baró, which refers to the ability to be critical about the political, social and emotional issues that affect our mental health. During this workshop, we’ll be discussing the ways in which colonialism, racism, and global oppression have contributed to widespread trauma— and further, how these “tools” have dictated the diagnostics and treatment approaches of the global mental health movement (which are Western, white-centric, and cis-heteronormative). Read the transcript here.


Decarcerating Care Panel

On Monday, September 14th, IDHA hosted a community discussion that will bring together frontline organizers with a range of perspectives on how to maintain the safety and health of our communities in ways that are free from the police, rooted in survivors' experience, and designed to preserve the rights and autonomy of those in crisis


Moving Beyond Health Inequality

In this talk, “Listening to the Patient: Mental Illness from a Social Model of Disability,” Stefanie discusses the PMHA program model & how LETS developed at Brown.


Brown Donor Volunteer Summit

Stefanie speaks about the growth of the organization during their undergraduate education at Brown University.