For members of low income communities of color, mental health is often seen as a myth or secondary in relation to every other battle they face throughout their lives. However, mental health is fundamental to succeeding in escaping racism and classism. This lack of knowledge is not the fault of the people, but the systems designed in order to oppress. Without access to affordable and attainable mental health resources, the likelihood of the cycle of debilitating mental health crises continuing increases. Beginning in Childhood, children who are exposed to elongated instances of trauma manifest their troubles in misbehavior and hyperactivity. From there, these children are labeled as "bad" or "troubled", which leads to self deprecation and the belief that they're irredeemable. The cycle is continued in unemployment which can, often times, force people to turn to crime. After entering the prison system, these individuals, who are now adults, will be faced with the grueling reality of reentering society with a record. Treatment for the trauma that one can undergo in prison is inaccessible, so people may live the entirety of their lives without relief from their pasts. Additionally, entering the job market as and ex-convict is nearly impossible and jobs that offer a living wage will most likely not be accepting of someone with a "jacket". Often, people will turn to vices which can be seen in illnesses like Substance Use Disorder. These individuals can then be re-criminalized in a process called recidivism which forces them to reenter the prison system restart their lives. The cycle continues as parents are separated from their children as they're incarcerated, traumatizing them and creating intergenerational adversity.

I broke my project into three main portions: initial research, interviews, and writing. My initial research took about two months. It consisted of finding articles, taking notes on them, and reviewing my notes every few weeks in order to organize next steps. I did this process about three times in order to complete my research phase.

Originally, I had a completely different format for my final project. However, after completing my first research experience, my advisor and I had realized that the most authentic way for the project to be completed would be if research influenced the final outcome, rather than the opposite. 

In terms of my interviews and the construction of my final project, the process got more difficult. Interviews were mostly unsuccessful and navigating around that was definitely a struggle. Once I'd gotten pass that challenge, I began to work on my final project. At this point, I'd already decided that I wanted to create a website with a real emphasis on user experience in order to keep the information accessible. In order to ensure accessibility, I included a glossary and broke subsections into articles so that information would be digestible.

My project was originally designed to have interviews be a major portion of it. However, over the summer, most of the people that I'd reached out to were unresponsive. Therefore, I had to readjust my project to be influenced by the people that I could talk to. Luckily the two people that I conversed with specialized in the fields that my project focused on most. It was difficult to deal with serial rejection for the first time, especially in an academic context. My advisor and I discussed rejection as a natural part of this process, which definitely eased the frustration. I'm incredibly grateful for their cooperation. 

My research was majorly humanities based, but overtime, I became interested in the biochemical effects of experiences like ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and incarceration. I'd like to continue my research into mental health care for low income people of color throughout college, but at the intersection of STEM and humanities. With a multifaceted understanding of this subject, I'll be able to shift my advocacy to a more tangible focus in the healthcare field. Having access to consistently updated health screenings and limiting premiums on psychiatric medication are necessary steps to achieving class and race-based equality. My project has helped me identify that and I looking forward to continuing my research and advocacy.