A phone call from Kim Vincenty, a passionate mom from my daughters’ school about “doing something together to help,” was the start of our FEARLESS Collection. We’re so excited to announce that Kim is launching a new nonprofit called JACK Mental Health Advocacy, named after her son who battles Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). JACK is a nonprofit created to change the way OCD and anxiety sufferers and their families navigate the challenges of mental illness, fight stigma, and obtain quality education, support, and treatment.
Those with OCD and related disorders often find themselves trapped in a box of fear, confusion, obsessions, compulsions, and depression. Their loved ones stand outside, watching the walls close in and feeling powerless to help them. JACK founder, Kim Vincenty, is a mother first who would do anything for her kids. And when her son Jack began his battle with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) nearly twenty years ago, she felt like most moms with a child diagnosed with a mental illness – scared, isolated, and desperate to find answers.
Kim rolled up her sleeves. She became an OCD advocate, speaker, blogger, and support group facilitator. After ten years of serving in the community she found that in spite of tremendous resources and effective therapeutic interventions, there are still countless regions and communities that are underserved. There is a lack of access to trained clinicians; lack of training for clinicians; lackluster mental health programming; stigma and bullying; low level funding for vital community outreach; families with little support or education about OCD and related disorders, and a lack of understanding about OCD and anxiety disorders.
At the same time, Kim’s research, dogged determination, and the hours spent with Jack in intensive therapy began to work. Jack’s mental health stabilized and improved.
As a result, Kim was driven to help other families facing the same challenges she and her family faced, and to share what she learned along the way. JACK Mental Health Advocacy is a family-driven non-profit organization created to provide the tools to scale the walls of that box! It can be done.
“Life speaks to life, a parent trusts another parent,” Kim says. “We’ve been through the same thing. They need to be heard. They need somebody to tell them to keep going.”A portion of proceeds from the FEARLESS Collection now gives back to JACK to help anxiety sufferers and their families as they navigate the challenges of mental illness, fight stigma, and obtain quality education, support, and treatment.
We created FEARLESS to help educate, empower, and reduce the stigma of anxiety disorders, the most common mental illness in the United States affecting 40 million people. Make sure to visit the FEARLESS Resource Page we put together to learn more about how to help yourself or someone you love!
Read more about FEARLESS and JACK Mental Health Advocacy!
