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Upcoming Season: Uncovering & Overcoming Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care

We are currently gathering user input to help us shape our upcoming season.

9 episodes. Real voices from across the US. Crowdsourced solutions shaping real policy. No experience needed— every perspective matters.

America’s Mental Health Crisis has moved beyond awareness. The challenge now is action.

We all know the statistics. Millions of Americans—teens and adults alike are experiencing increased stress, self-harmful behavior, suicidal ideation and mental illness. Many are turning to drugs & alcohol for relief.

Funding has increased. Resources are widely available. Awareness campaigns are pervasive. Yet, despite this progress, utilization of mental health services remains strikingly low. People are still struggling—often silently—without engaging in the care designed to support them.

This season asks a critical question: Why don’t people engage in mental health care when help is available?

YOUR VOICE COULD BE THE CATALYST FOR UNCOVERING & OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE.

Join the discussion below.

RT4 | "I'm Not Crazy!" Fears that Prevent Mental Health

What if the biggest barriers to mental health care aren't just cost or access, but fear of being labeled “crazy,” losing your identity, being judged, medication, or the inability to recognize your own illness?

In this Roundtable, our ambassadors unpack the psychological and emotional barriers that keep people suffering in silence, from fear of diagnosis to the terror that talking about trauma will make it real to a prior bad experience with therapy to the reality that certain psychoses can prevent a person from recognizing their own illness.

These are the conversations we need to have to better understand why people don't seek help, even when they need it and to find solutions to overcome these barriers.

Your voice matters in this conversation! Tell us how you managed your mental health when care seemed scary or out-of-reach… Did you find a creative outlet or use exercise? Maybe it resulted in self-medication, adding another problem to the list…

Watch. Then, weigh in: https://communityserve.us/unity-forums/what-getting-through-it-actually-looked-like/

Special Thanks to our Ambassadors sharing their voices in today’s conversation, Paul Forchione, Daniel Lazzari, Namrataa Bhavani, Raaghav Bhavani and our partner, KARMANTLearning.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

Community Chat

Jamisha Mulder Oct 18, 2:42 am

I like to look at life like an art room. Doing things like taking vitamins and your medication on time is taking back control. It is why people don't seek help often times. I think that if we are more firm and kind with ourselves it can control the narrative at the right time. If we stay in the same space everyday for a few minutes we find the right balance. What works for me is plenty of water and exercise. I like reading to look at the bigger picture when stressed.

Danielle Oct 4, 7:05 pm

Community, Serve Us is honored by our partnership with Dale Stevanus and it's a true privilege to bring the World Premiere of So d**n Long exclusively to our members in Out of the Dark: Robin Hall Ambassador Spotlight.
Sign up to be the first to receive updates on the Community, Serve Us x Dale Stevanus partnerhip.

Danielle Sep 14, 12:34 am

I want to thank all of our Mental Health Ambassadors who participated in our second roundtable... Each comes from a different background and generously, they share insights from their unique experiences that are so relatable to the feelings of our users.

Danielle Aug 26, 9:26 pm

@ekaye - You zeroed in on a great point from Coach Paul's Spotlight about how a negative/painful environment can override a person's true inner emotional state or view of the world. I know I have been guilty of letting a negative environment dim my inner light and have not had the grace he had to set a goal or create a community within to help restore my light, but I will in the future.

ekaye Aug 25, 2:40 pm

I really appreciated the perspective Coach Paul brought up in this video. His point that someone’s environment shapes their emotions, regardless of their personality, was really interesting to me. I especially liked his perspective on finding an outlet or community that keeps you accountable and pushes you toward your goals.

Danielle Aug 23, 1:52 pm

@ekaye - Thanks for your feedback on Life After Death. Great point about a continuum of different services. In one of the forums, you mention peer support, which can come in many different forms. One of our Ambassadors is a professional coach. He shares about that process in his spotlight video being released today as well as throughout our Roundtable Discussions. What other options are there?

ekaye Aug 19, 1:43 am

This was a very impactful video! I really loved the point brought up about how mental health issues exist on a continuum. Social support is such a vital part of people seeking help; however, not everyone who is dealing with an issue wants to seek professional help. I think this is why it is so important to make different forms of support feel accessible at every point on the continuum.

Danielle Jul 22, 1:27 pm

Welcome! This season, we are Uncovering & Overcoming Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care.

Danielle Jul 22, 1:17 pm

Welcome! This season, we are Uncovering & Overcoming Hidden Barrier to Mental Health Care.

Danielle Jul 21, 10:37 pm

Welcome!

Danielle Jul 21, 8:59 am

Welcome! Join in the discussion on Uncovering & Overcoming Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care.
Your input is valued.

Danielle Jul 21, 8:57 am

Welcome! Join in the conversation to help us Uncover & Overcome Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care. Your input is valued!

Danielle Jul 21, 8:09 am

Welcome to the new season where we are Uncovering & Overcoming Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care. We invite you to join the conversation.

Danielle Jul 21, 7:31 am

Welcome to the upcoming season focused on Uncovering & Overcoming the Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care. We invite you to join the discussion!

Danielle Jul 20, 9:19 am

Welcome to Season 2 focused on overcoming barrier to mental health care. Join the conversation!

Danielle Apr 28, 2:01 pm

@mom - Thank you for sharing this. I think your comments really highlight Margo's points about the effectiveness of media campaigns, like Smokey the Bear, which served to educate about the dangers of irresponsible use of fire, but over time, more recent generations have not received equal education on the responsible use of fire and the many valuable uses of this practice throughout history.

Mom Apr 21, 7:26 pm

Great job, Danielle!……….and “thank you”, Margo! What a wealth of information and so well presented! History so often escapes us as we move through the generations. As a small child in Ohio, I remember the farmers using the burn method to protect and preserve their fields. We need more people with your expertise to remind us of the worth of those simpler times. This episode is a real hit!

luv2game00 Sep 21, 7:20 pm

This is so cool! Love the interactive elements! Can't wait to watch the Survivor Story and Crowdsourcing videos and interact with everyone here.

Danielle Sep 21, 7:03 pm

Yes! We are very honored to have received a donation to help us continue doing this important work from the First United Church of Christ in Warren, Ohio.

Mom Sep 15, 1:37 am

Many thanks to First Church in Warren Oh for their generous donation! And, Congratulations Community Service for this well-deserved expression of support!

studiokulaadmin Aug 3, 12:02 am

@elizabeth123 - We feel the same way! We know that everyone watching these videos is here because they are interested in this topic and even more, that everyone watching has a good idea to contribute. We hope that our viewers will take the time to sign-up (completely free) and contribute their good ideas, here, in our idea boards or in our Unity Forums!

Elizabeth123 Jul 23, 2:36 pm

I love this chat feature. I watched the video about the chefs and with the expert from the Paradise fires and liked the ideas feature. I hope others will join. I think it could be fun to collaborate on solving these problems together.

Danielle Jul 17, 11:12 pm

@martin600 - Kristin, thank you so much for your support! The work that you and the OC Chefs Relief Fund did to support the victims & first responders by delivering 10K meals is so admirable! Thank you for sharing your inspiring story in our "Effective Service Coordination in Disaster Response & Recovery" episode.

Martin600 Jul 16, 4:22 pm

Thank you Danielle & Team for giving us a platform to share our efforts to help the community!

Danielle Jun 16, 11:55 pm

@Rishabh - I am also excited to see what this community of users comes up with regarding the use of robotic firefighters... and, would love to hear the perspective of some of those who work on the frontlines

rishbhav Jun 16, 10:39 pm

This video emphasizes how combining "Community serve us" efforts with technology can create real solutions for wildfire prevention and recovery. The ideas about using drones, AI, real-time monitoring, and robotic firefighters are inspiring! I also like the idea that they highlighted the power of a community platform to bring experts together. Great insights for shaping a safer future.

rbhavani1 Jun 16, 6:04 pm

I appreciate how the first speaker discussed how communities can come together to solve problems with their unique skills and resources. It's a great idea to create a group of technologists to use their technology and identify issues such as power line risks or wildfire hotspots. This collaboration could make a big difference!

Mom Jun 16, 1:34 pm

Power to all those willing to contribute their thoughts and solutions to this useful, worthwhile tool being offered under the direction of Danielle’s always stunning manner of bringing people together for the common good. Best to all! LET THEM SPEAK!

Danielle Jun 16, 6:06 am

You are right, Namrataa, there was such an incredible outpouring of support from community members to help one another and work together. Hopefully, we can extend and grow that community spirit and collaboration here.

Namrataa Jun 16, 3:03 am

During the fires, it seems it was the community that really made a difference, meaning people helping each other with support and resources including food, and shelter. It showed me how much of an impact people can make when they contribute ideas to cooperate together and when they come together to look out for one another.

Current Season

Common Ground Chronicles - Current Season Show

Roundtable Conversations Hide

RT4 | "I'm Not Crazy!" Fears that Prevent Mental Health

What if the barriers that keep people suffering in silence aren't cost or access, but fear of diagnosis or terror about talking about past trauma...

RT3 | Are the traditions meant to protect us actually silencing us?

What if the very faiths, cultures, traditions and belief systems meant to protect us are actually the ones trapping us in silence?

RT2 | Beyond the Highlight Reel: Is Your Phone a "Silent Bully"?

What if one of the biggest barriers to mental health care isn't access, but what we're being told every day on our phones?

Haters Gonna Hate...

In this clip from our recent Mental Health Roundtable Conversation, I open up about my first experience with online trolls and hate speech...

RT1 | Why Don't People Get Mental Health Care When Help Is Available?

We open our roundtable conversations with an open dialogue about what prevents people from participating in available health care...

Mental Health Ambassadors

Passionate about MENTAL HEALTH? Watch to see how you can get involved in our upcoming season “Uncovering & Overcoming Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care.”

Ambassador Spotlight Hide

Out of the Dark: The Journey from Childhood Abuse & Parental Psychoses to Treatment & Healing

Special Guest: Robin Hall; Featured Music: So Damn Long by Dale Stevanus
What happens when you spend your entire childhood being told you’re bad...

Called to Action: Turning Adversity Into Achievement

Special Guest: Coach Paul Forchione of A Call to Action
Born with cerebral palsy, doctors doubted Coach Paul would ever walk. Bullied by peers, and told by his school principal that he wasn't college material,..

Life After Death: A Journey to Mental Wellness

Special Guest: Daniel Lazzari
Two overdoses from which he had to be revived, but Daniel Lazzari was already “dead”, numbing nagging feelings of fear with substances...

News & Insights Show

More to Watch

Common Ground Chronicles - Previous Seasons Show

Beta/Pilot - LA Wildfire Recovery Hide

Fighting Fire With Fire: Cultural & Prescribed Burns

Guest Expert, Margo Robbins, Executive Director of Cultural Fire Management Council shares the ancient Indigenous practice of cultural and prescribed burns and how it can prevent wildfires, restore ecosystems, and heal communities.

Alone in the Aftermath: An Eaton Fire Survivor’s Story

Special Guest and Altadena resident, Carine Yahinian, bravely shares her family's journey of navigating recovery, the urgent need for a simple, clear support guide, and her call to action for a better, community-informed system.

An Inspiring Story of Grassroots Disaster Volunteers

Guest Experts, Chef Wing Lam, Kristin Martin & American Red Cross OC Heroes Honoree, Chef Robert DuVall share their inspiring story of how OC Chefs Relief Fund started as two-week grassroots mission and grew into a three-month effort delivering 10K meals and supplies to frontline workers, wildfire victims. They also share the value of a platform like Community, Serve Us in supporting these large volunteer efforts.

Crowdsourcing Hope: How Communities Shape Disaster Recovery Together

Guest Expert Scott Winter shares his experience helping to curate the Paradise Fire Recovery and discusses how immersive storytelling and nonpartisan collaboration can shape disaster recovery.

Crowdsourcing to Support Wildfire & Disaster Recovery

Guest Expert Asher Jay illuminates the value of Community, Serve Us and the use of a crowdsourcing platform to support disaster recovery & preparedness and outlines the need for radical collaboration as climate change accelerates.

Technology in Wildfire Recovery & Prevention

Guest Expert Carlo Saggese provides an enlightening, not-to-be-missed overview of how technology innovators can combat wildfires, support disaster relief, and collaborate with Community, Serve Us to create lasting solutions.

General Videos Show

Welcome to the Wall of Hope

Hope has many voices. Sometimes, it speaks through art.

The Wall of Hope is Community, Serve Us’ creative gallery where you can share original artwork inspired by your experiences with mental health, resilience, healing, hope, or the barriers you’ve faced along the way.

Whether it’s a painting, drawing, photograph, poem, song, dance, spoken word performance, or another creative work, your story can help others feel seen, reduce stigma, inspire hope, and deepen our understanding of the hidden barriers to mental health care.

Your submission becomes more than a work of art. It becomes part of a community conversation that helps spark empathy, inspire new ideas, and crowdsource solutions that make mental health support more accessible for everyone.

Create. Share. Inspire Hope. Build Solutions.

Need Inspiration?

Not sure where to begin? Try one of these prompts:

Create something that represents a barrier you’ve faced without naming it directly.
Show us what healing feels like using color, sound, movement, or words.
If your emotions today had a soundtrack, what would it be?
Express something you’ve never said out loud through art, poetry, music, or performance.
What does being understood look or feel like to you?
Turn a difficult moment into something creative. What emerges?
If your experience could speak without words, what would it show?
What gives you hope?
What does resilience look like in your life?

Video

Young Man Gives Shoes Off His Feet

Watch this inspiring story of hope..

Open link →

💬 Continue the Conversation

"What do you hope happens after someone experiences your work?"

Inspire hope through your story of healing or resilience — Opens a Conversation in the Forums →

Dance

Anti-bullying dance

Today is World Mental Health Day and October is Bullying Prevention month. The community of Highland Park in California is mourning the loss of Xavier Nungaray-Martinez who was basically bullied to death.

This piece was posted by Mel B who said, "We are studying dance ministry at Hillsong College and this is our 2nd semester group collaborative choreography dance piece on anti-bullying. It is based on a true story and we are dancing against bullying at schools.

Performance date: 4th October 2012"

Play video →

💬 Continue the Conversation

"What do you hope happens after someone experiences your work?"

Help others dealing with this feel supported — Opens a Conversation in the Forums →

Dance

Mental Health PIECE | Dance

From the Choreographer, Argelis Capellan

"We live in a world where if you speak about your mental health you either are crazy or your making it up. Sometimes dealing with mental health can be even more painful when you simply cant express yourself with the correct words. Trying to explain what you feel when you get an anxiety attack is like trying to figure out why so many crazy things are happening in this world.....you can’t really explain it! You have voices in your head that make you go crazy plus your different mood swings. God has definitely taken me out of dark places plus being able to do something that I love makes it all better! I’ve always said this “I may not be book smart but when I’m in a dance studio I feel like a genius” When creating this piece I wanted people to see how no matter what you go through you can overcome it. This piece was created for exactly these reasons. It was created for you who are reading this to know that from a dark place you can enter into a place of peace. Theirs been moments of deep anxiety where I cant stop crying on my pillow to me exceeding into the women I am now. Not always we have to carry those dark places with us. You are capable of letting it go, you are capable of entering a place of peace! You do not have to apologize for the way you feel, express it and LET IT GO! You got this!"

Play video →

💬 Continue the Conversation

"What do you hope happens after someone experiences your work?"

Just wanted to share my story or work — Simply Tell My Story

Video

Mental Health at workplace and its implications

Play video →

Video

The surprisingly dramatic role of nutrit

How nutrition affects mental wellness recovery

Play video →

💬 Continue the Conversation

"What do you hope happens after someone experiences your work?"

Help others dealing with this feel supported — Opens a Conversation in the Forums →

Mental Health Ambassador Program

Your Voice Can Shape What Comes Next

We're currently in our user research phase — and what we hear from real people right now will directly inform the direction of our upcoming season. Whether you're a community member with a story to share or a mental health professional ready to lend your expertise, there's a place for you here. Select participants may also be invited to continue through the full season.

Need help?

We’ve got you covered with support for technical questions and general inquires.

Please send us a message directly and we’ll be in touch shortly

Join a Movement for Real Change

Why are 1 in 5 Americans going without mental health treatment?

Kinship + Connection = Kinnective

Participate in Next Voice (Ages 13-17)

Upcoming Season: Uncovering & Overcoming Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care

We are currently gathering user input to help us shape our upcoming season.

RT4 | "I'm Not Crazy!" Fears that Prevent Mental Health

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

Community Chat

Current Season

More to Watch

Unity Forums

Ideas for Change

Mental Health Care as a Part of Preventative Care

Prioritizing Culturally Competent Care

Using Public Influence to Normalize Mental Health

Welcome to the Wall of Hope

Need Inspiration?

The Wall of Hope

Featured Articles

Exclusive Partnership: Musician Dale Stevanus joins with Community, Serve Us

Real Voices to Help Shape Policy & Deinstitutionalization: World Mental Health Day Call to Action

How Are Other Countries Crushing the Mental Health Crisis? (And What the US Can Learn)

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