Workshop Facilitator and Performer, 55, INSURED

Interviewed May 2013

(oil on canvas 40 ins. x 30 ins.)

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A dancer, artist, poet, professional mime and drama teacher, Janet is the co-founder of an organization that uses the arts and interactive exercises to teach suicide awareness and anti-bullying workshops. She also helps establish chapters of Suicide Anonymous© all over the world.

Janet has suffered with mental health issues, including addiction, co-dependency, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and suicidal ideation since the age of eight. At the age of twenty-one, Janet checked herself into a mental hospital. In the years that followed, Janet was in and out of the hospital for extended stays.

For years, Janet relied on her family to help pay for her medications and treatments. This put a strain on her parents financially and she experienced strong feelings of guilt. Eventually, someone in the medical community suggested she apply for Social Security Disability Insurance, which comes with Medicare health benefits. The subject was still receiving healthcare through SSDI at the time of painting.

When asked what her insurance coverage means to her, Jane said, “It tells me there is a God and he saved my life. I am so grateful for it.”