A LiveWell Manifesto
LiveWell: it’s the radical idea of creating connection and hope in an alienated and despairing world. It's changing the way society tackles depression and suicide, and building a world based on shared responsibility, support, and dignity for the mental health of our communities.
It starts by standing with the depressed, listening to their collective voices, and recognizing wisdom and potential where others see illness and futility.
It thrives on moral imagination: the humility to see the world as it is, and the audacity to imagine the world as it could be. It’s having the ambition to learn at the edge, the wisdom to admit failure, and the courage to start again.
We are, at heart, conservationists. And people of faith. Concerned citizens
Confuscius.. a search for our roots, which he perceived as grounded in humanity's deepest needs for belonging and communicating. He had faith in the cuulative power of culture. The fact that traditional ways had lost vitality did not, for him, diminish their potential for regeneration in the future. In fat, C's sense of history was so strong that he saw himself as a cnsevationists reposonsible for for the contiunity of the cultural values and the scial norms that had worked so well for the idealized civilization of the Western Zhou dynasty.
It demands investing as a means, not an end, daring to go where markets have failed and aid has fallen short.
It makes capital work for us, not control us.
It makes media work for us, not control us.
It requires patience and kindness, resilience and grit: a hard-edged hope. It’s leadership that rejects complacency, breaks through bureaucracy, and challenges corruption. Doing what’s right, not what’s easy.
"High-Functioning" Depression
For many people living with depression, their daily realities resemble the lives of spies. Trying to keep their depression under the radar, many feel as if they are living a double-life. Some even hide their “true identities” from those closest to them.
Creating A Sustainable Solution
Towards Mental Health Equity
Empowering communities
to help themselves
Every year, approximately one out of five American adults will experience at least one major depressive episode.
Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S., with depression’s annual toll on U.S. businesses amounting to about $80 billion per year.
Over 70% of people suffering cannot afford or access the support they desperately want and need.
Untreated depression is devastating the lives of individuals, their families, and our communties. Untreated depression is also the leading cause of suicide; and another American dies by suicide every 12.4 minutes.
Local LiveWell depression support groups - led by volunteer peers in the community - are always free and easy to access: you just walk in!
No health insurance or referral needed. **Peer-led interventions are not only a cost effective way to reach a wide and diverse population, but research shows they are also as effective as psychotherapy for the longterm treatment of depression.
Clancy Philbrick
Director of Education
Clancy has taught and mentored at the university and high school level with a continued commitment to the arts, diversity, and leaderships skills. Combining his curriculum design and lived experience, he is the co-creator of LiveWell HighSchool©
The heart and soul of the LiveWell Program...
With lived experience of depression and resilience, the diverse group of trained peers who volunteer to lead LiveWell support groups have one thing in common: a dedication to empowering all people in their community to live well with depression.
By the community. For the community.
Our volunteer peer facilitators
AMY
Amy is an MSW and educator who is passionate about using mindfulness practices for good mental health.
CLANCY
Clancy is an educator and visual artist whose work has been exhibited across the U.S.
DANIEL
Daniel is a professor of Humanities at a local university.
EILEEN
Eileen has experience as a fundraiser and consultant.
ELRECO
ElReco is a radio producer, a visual artist, and trained by the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) as a Peer Speaker.
ERICA
Erica is a Dean at a local middle school and a poet.
ISAAC
Isaac is a figure skater and coach.
J. (Jerome)
Originally from Rochester, New York, J. has experience in teaching, peer counseling, and community volunteer work.
KATHERINE
Kat not only contributes to the mental wellbeing of her community, but also works for AIDS awareness.
MICHAEL
Michael is a physician and mental health advocate.
MUDHILLIN
Mu is a teacher of youth of all ages, and daily runs more miles than we can count.
PETRA
Petra is an attorney who often contributes new and creative ideas to the LiveWell Program.
SHAUN
Lead Peer Facilitator, and Facilitator Trainer. Basically, we can't do what we do without him!
TEDDY
Teddy is a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS), a photographer, and a student of social work.
ZAIN
Zain is a poet and musician who is dedicated to helping reduce mental health stigma in inner-city neighborhoods.
Our Board of Trustees
LWF's Board of Directors provides governance, and advocates for LWF's important work and mission.
Joyce Norden
Our community partners share our mission of reducing the impact depression has on our communities by generously donating neighborhood meeting spaces for weekly LiveWell support groups.
Our Community Partners
If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
The LiveWell Foundation does not provide emergency services.
