On Saturday, September 14, a group of five Twin Cities DSA members – Jordan and Arissa, Ezra I, Jessica N, and I (Debs) – met at a Saint Paul coffee shop to launch a new working group focusing on mental health. You may ask – is that mental health in policy and theory, mental health as a diversity point in socialist culture, or our own individual mental health as a factor in our lives and overall health? Is our group going to be working on destroying stigmas about mentally ill people, or on ensuring mental health coverage stays in Medicare4All, or are we going to be a mutual aid and support group for anyone struggling with a mental health issue? The answer is yes! All of those!
This being the first meeting, we mostly just did introductions and light brainstorming, and beyond the consensus that we want to continue with this and grow it to reach more people, we didn’t make any decisions. We did, however, make a pitch for our new group at the annual meeting on Saturday, September 21.
We will be meeting again in the near future. If you’re on TCDSA Slack, and want to know more, look for the open channel #mental_health and keep an eye on the chapter calendar. If you’re not on Slack, let one of us know of your interest at the next general meeting.
– Deb K.R.