Contributed By: Brayden Ransom, MHC’s Marketing and Communications Assistant
I recently joined Mental Health Connecticut (MHC) as the Marketing and Communications Assistant. I graduated from the University of Hartford (’20) but I originally grew up in a small town in Northern Vermont. To say my upbringing played a strong hand in my decision to join MHC is an understatement. From a young age I was made aware of the significance of mental healthcare and the vital role that healthcare plays in whole health. A year after I was born, my father was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. My mother, who is involved in the mental health world through her profession as a mental health counselor, was able to see signs and fought for him to get the proper diagnosis and treatment. My life felt like a training session for how to accept mental health conditions openly and honestly and how to treat them like any other health condition, which they are.
The stigma around mental health conditions was something I took notice of early in life. It has always been important to me that I not only prioritize my own mental health but that I leave room and encouragement for others to do the same. When I graduated high school and moved on to college, I knew whatever I did with my life I would be helping people, because I had a fundamental idea instilled in my mind that we all just need to be looking out for each other.
I have a creative mind, a passion for writing and love for learning. It was obvious to me that the world was turning digital and that if I wanted to make a real impact on people, I would need to find a way to use the digital world to shift attention towards topics that I feel truly matter. After graduating undergrad, I had tools in my belt and knowledge in my hand; I knew I would be valuable to a team or organization. Mental Health Connecticut caught my attention as the place to make a difference because of the core values, morals and sense of duty that hasn’t wavered since the organization was founded in 1908.
Since joining, every person I have met who works at, participates with, partners with, or has heard of Mental Health Connecticut have been people with impeccable integrity, who take pride in the work they do. This allowed me the reassurance to know I had chosen the right place to make a difference. MHC is exactly who they say they are.
My first impression coming in was that these are people who care about people. The staff, volunteers and partners of MHC want to bring out the best version of whomever they come across and work endlessly to locate the recourses necessary to do that. There is a fundamental need to look out for others—the same need I’ve felt since I was young–built into the values of MHC. I am just starting here at MHC and I am on the marketing side of things, I’m not doing work in the field; but what I learned quickly is that if you have anything at all to do with this organization then you are impacting the community for the better.
