The NorthStar Health Collective’s Mental Health Organizer’s are growing a new model of radical mental health support with Icarus Project style inner workings in response to the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) coming to the Twin Cities in September. To the best of our knowledge there has never been an organized form of mental health support during a large protest such as this. The fact of the matter is that without a plan to support each other during times such as these, we are likely to lose important organizers and demonstrators next time around. The emotional trauma of past events such as the 2004 RNC, the Seattle WTO protests, and the G8 have been immeasurable and we fear that kind of loss again this time around.
The NorthStar Health Collective is setting up a Wellness Space to help care for those on the streets of Minneapolis & St. Paul who may experience trauma of any kind. There will be tens of thousands of people in a large, crowded and unfamiliar city, who will likely be witness to state-sponsored violence among other traumatizing and triggering things. It is our duty as a community to provide a place of decompression and healing to our fellow humyn beings. Our hope is that with your input we can fashion a new model in which we can care for each other not just during the RNC, but in the context of any big festival, demonstration, or concert in the future. With an organized approach rooted in total wellness and mutual aid, we are finding new and exciting ways to deliver “emotional first aid” to those in need on a larger scale. With more folks seeking support at any given time, this will mean more volunteers, more resources and lots of organization.
Mad Love,
NorthStar Health Colletive’s Mental Health Support Folks
