We screened his short film Crazy and Proud at our 8th Annual NYC Mental Health Film Festival, and he joined us to share some thoughts about both the festival and the film.
How did you first hear about Community Access?
In 1994 a friend told me about Community Access' new flagship residence at Gouverneur Court. I ended up working there for a couple of years as a recreation specialist – actually my first ever job in social services.
This is your first time at our Mental Health Film Festival – what do you hope to take away from it?
I'm looking forward to having a good time and to seeing some interesting films. Hopefully my film and the festival as a whole will reach a broad audience, and can play a role in positively raising the general public's consciousness about mental health issues.
Tell us about Crazy and Proud. What is it about?
It's an e-book project, which includes audio, video, text, and photographs, about a New York inner-city shelter for mentally ill women, where I was hired as a recreation worker to teach photography. I got to hear the stories of these women and found them to be incredibly compelling – tragic in many ways but also full of hope.
You've documented your own experience of having Tourette syndrome – does Crazy and Proud also reflect on that?
Definitely. It helped the women in the shelter to trust me and made it easier for them to explain what they were going through. And it also helped me to realize that Tourette syndrome is not the worst thing in the world. You find ways of overcoming difficulties – and that's something I recognized in the shelter women, too.
How do you think New York City could better serve the interests of mentally ill and homeless New Yorkers?
Better services. Better shelters. Intensive case management. We should make sure that people and their problems don’t just fall through the cracks. That takes time.
Check out www.crazyandproud.com for more info.