[POP] CULT SURVIVALIST

Q1 REPORT (SPRING 2023)

VIEW THE Original Project Document

THA core programs, Apt, Horror| REC Zombie| + [Pop] Cult Survivalist, are groundbreaking resources that address pop (counter) culture as a reputable data source for community development and enhancing civic engagement.

The Long-term goal is for the data points (and anecdotal analysis) to become a crucial resource for any city/state/or federal officials, initiatives, or programs to better serve the underrepresented communities they were appointed to protect.

Ava (Avie) M. Fields is a Horror Advocate| Crime Trend Expert| Pop Culture Survivalist| and poet based in Boston. In February 2023, the Mass Cultural Council recognized THA, a pop-culture research project that meets inequities at their root rather than their symptomatic effect, as a critical influence on MA culture. THA uses innovative community response models to reframe and repurpose traumatic content, demonstrating the transformative impact of blending horror film, equity, and compassion. The objective is to transform antiquated social structures that thrive on harm and starve survival.

After graduating with a Master of Science in Criminal Behavior [2016], she began mapping a strategy for using pop culture as a decoder for criminality.

PROJECT MISSION/DESCRIPTION

An investigative project that uses crime trends, statistics, and media to map pop culture as a decoder for criminality. PCS rejects our standard practice for addressing criminal activity and offers an innovative community response model in its place.

data for social change

PCS will release a bi-quarterly report detailing relevant pop culture mythos/cultural moments and how they formulate criminality.

WHAT IS A [POP] CULT SURVIVALIST?

A cryptanalyst for the collective, survived by codifying pop culture and crime trends as a pioneering approach to harm reduction.

Think of it as ECS [emergency cultural services].

Target Population

US Residents/Inhabitants/Citizens affected by criminal activity.

INTENDED IMPACT [OVERALL]

+ To expand perspective on the role media plays in our legal system

+ To illustrate the function of [pop] crime codes AND THE EFFECTS OF CULTURAL CRIMINIALIZALIZATION

Inequities are founded on culture; We must address them profoundly and persistently. However, the only way to reach the root is to find the collective concern and work backward. This is an atypical approach to community dialogue, especially in opposition to the THA research project [Apt Horror], which captures granular data points.

[POP] CULT SURVIVALIST thrives on the power of the collective when addressing issues that affect all of us, albeit the nuances of specific lived experiences.

GOALS [FOR THIS REPORT]

+ to develop an equitable/culture-shifting resource that addresses the alliance between our legal system, the media circus, and cultural practices.

Below, you will find [Pop] Cult resource documents that will help guide you through the rest of this report.

THE VIOLENCE TYPE[S]

PROJECT LANGUAGE: KILLER PROFILES

PROJECT LANGUAGE: KILLER TERMS TO KNOW

Crime TRENDS: Most Dangerous States 2022

Highest Rate

New Mexico (6462.032)

Lowest Rate

New Hampshire (2344.184)

DEFINE 'DANGEROUS': WHAT'S THE FORMULA?

All 50 states were assessed across 53 indicators. Each state was given a total score out of 100. The indicators were grouped into the following categories: Personal and residential Safety; Financial Safety, Road Safety, Workplace Safety, and Emergency Preparedness- Using sed indicators such as the number of Fatalities per 100 million Vehicle Miles of Travel, Number of Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita, Number of Assaults per Capita; Bullying Incidence Rate; Unemployment Rate; Share of Uninsured Population; Percentage of Adults with Rainy-Day Funds; Total Loss Amount from Climate Disasters per Capita; and Number of Fatal Occupational Injuries per Total Workers'-- READ THE SOURCE ARTICLE HERE.

Here are the ten states with the highest homicide rates:

Louisiana - 12.4 per 100k| Missouri - 9.8 per 100k| Nevada - 9.1 per 100k| Maryland - 9 per 100k| Arkansas - 8.6 per 100k| Alaska - 8.4 per 100k| Alabama - 8.3 per 100k| Mississippi - 8.2 per 100k| Illinois - 7.8 per 100k South Carolina - 7.8 per 100k

Crime TRENDS: WHAT EFFECTS US? [APT HORROR SURVEY DATA]

My innovative study, Apt, Horror, captures a combination of media and demographic data, some of which is critical to the evolution of [pop] cult survivalist. Below is a list of essential data points.

The section below reviews social concerns identified through the survey data.

What is the most crucial detail in characterizing Social Justice?

Access to Opportunities + Equality

Human Rights

Equity

Which of the options below is most detrimental to the human experience?

Greed + Wealth distribution

Government Action/Inaction

Racism

What social or political issue is most important right now?

Mental Health Awareness

Poverty + Racial Discrimination

Climate Change/Pollution

[POP] CULT SURVEY PARTICIPANTS

Initially, I predicted 50 participants tops. With 153 recorded responses:

The survey reached 306% more than expected.

A QUICK NOTE ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHICS

While demographics are essential, this report includes participants as a collective. Typically, demographics drive impact and source reporting, but this project expands our view on data functionality.

[POP] CULT CRIME CODES

+[POP] CULTURE MURDERS [EX: THE JENNY JONES MURDER + THE JERRY SPRINGER MURDER]

+THE CRIME OF COMMUNITY [EX: CULTS, RELIGIOUS ABUSE, AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM]

+THE CRIME OF IDENTITY THEFT [EX: PARENTHOOD, JUVENILE JUSTICE/CRIMES, TOXIC FAMILY STRUCTURES, AND FORBIDDEN TEENAGE LOVE

+THE CRIME OF TRUST [FALSE CONFESSIONS, BASTARDIZED JUSTICE, WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS]

+THE CRIME OF POVERTY [MONEY AND RELIGION IN THE COURTROOM]

+ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWERS: AMERICAS LOVE AFFAIR WITH DOMESTIC TERRORISTS

+IT COULDN'T BE ME: MORAL SUPERIORITY, NARCISSISTIC IMMUNITY, AND HOW WE BUILD THE MACHINE THAT SURVIVORS DIE IN

+LEARN YOUR GEOMETRY: LOVE TRIANGLES AS CERTAIN DEATH

+DENY WHAT YOU CANT ADMIT: HATE CRIMES, BIAS, AND A PREEMPTIVE STRIKE AS SELF DEFENSE

+ON THE FENCE: 'GAY PANIC' DEFENSE, DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL, AND HOMOPHOBIA DISGUISED AS OUTRAGE

+THINGS LIKE THIS DON'T HAPPEN HERE: THE ZIP CODE AS AN IMAGINARY CLOAK, THE LORE ABOUT CITY/DENSELY POPULATED AREAS, AND THEIR CRIME FOOTPRINT.

+THE CRIME OF DESPERATION: THE NARCISSISTIC SOCIAL LOOP OF casualty BLAMING

+PAGING DOCTOR DEATH: NARCISSISTIC IMMUNITY IN DOCTORS, DENTISTS, AND THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY

+YOU POISONED YOURSELF: TRADITION AS MURDER, FEMINISM AS RESPONSIBILITY

+MURDER BY PROXY: THE INSTITUTIONALIZED VIOLENCE OF BEING AN UNDER-RESOURCED/UNDER-EXPERIENCED POLICE FORCE AND PROUD OF IT

SURVEY TOPICS

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

+ JURISPRUDENCE SHOULD EVOLVE WITH THE CULTURE, NOT DESPITE IT

+ FACTS/DATA ARE INFLUENCED BY POPULAR CULTURAL BELIEFS

+ CRIMINALITY AS TRADITION: AMERICA’S THIRST FOR REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK(S)

+ CRIME DOES PAY: CRIMINALITY AS THE AMERICAN DREAM

+ TO FOSTER, TO WAR: THE SANCTITY OF LIFE AND THE PRIVILEGE OF DEATH

+ DADDY ISSUES: GENDER DYNAMICS, FAMILY ANNIHILATORS, AND CHILD SACRIFICE/SATANIC PANIC

+ EXCUSE VS. EXPLANATION: IT’S THE WHY, NOT THE FOR WHAT

+ REHABILITATION VS. RETRIBUTION: PICK A STRUGGLE

+ THE LESSON REPEATS AS NEEDED: COMMUNITY SUPPORT, RESOURCES, AND ROADBLOCKS THAT AID RECIDIVISM

SURVEY RESULTS

The [Pop] Cult Survivalist Survey captured the following data points:

+Top 2: [POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK(S)

+ Top 2: [POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

+ Top 2: [POP] CULT CRIME CODES

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK(S)

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

[POP] CULT CRIME CODES

[POP] CULT SURVIVALIST: DATA AS CONNECTIVITY

NOTE:[POP] CULT SURVIVALIST DOES NOT DEBATE GUILT OR INNOCENCE. THE REPORTS WILL DISCUSS HOW THE MARRIAGE OF OUR MEDIA CIRCUS ALIGNS WITH OUR CULTURAL PRACTICES FOR ADDRESSING CRIMINALITY.

[POP] CULT CRIME CODES:

+ POP] CULTURE MURDERS [EX: THE JENNY JONES MURDER + THE JERRY SPRINGER MURDER ]

+ THE CRIME OF COMMUNITY [EX: CULTS, RELIGIOUS ABUSE, AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM ]

THE CRIMINAL[S]

THE CASUALTIES

Jill Blackstone, TV PRODUCER

[MURDERED HER SISTER IN March 2015]

Scott Amedure [MURDERED IN MARCH 1995]

Nancy Campbell-Panitz [MURDERED IN JULY 2000]

Jonathan Schmitz

[MURDERED Scott Amedure IN March 1995]

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK[S]

+ CRIME DOES PAY: CRIMINALITY AS THE AMERICAN DREAM

+ TO FOSTER, TO WAR: THE SANCTITY OF LIFE AND THE PRIVILEGE OF DEATH

Monica Burgos Beresford-Redman [MURDERED IN April of 2010]

JOHNNY ALTINGER [MURDERED IN JULY 2008]

Joseph Hall

[murdered his father Jeffrey Hall in may 2011]

Mark Twitchell

murdered johnny Altinger in 2008]

Jeffrey Hall [MURDERED IN May 2011]

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

+ CRIMINALITY AS TRADITION: AMERICA’S THIRST FOR REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE

+ JURISPRUDENCE SHOULD EVOLVE WITH THE CULTURE, NOT DESPITE IT

Ryan Alexander Jenkins

[murdered his ex-wife in August 2009]

Wendy Blackstone [MURDERED IN March 2015]

Jasmine Fiore [MURDERED IN JULY 2009]

Bruce Beresford

[murdered his wife, Mônica, in April 2010]

[POP]CULT FUEL SAMPLES: SETTING THE STAGE

2010- Bruce Beresford

Redman is the co-creator and executive producer of MTV's Pimp My Ride and a former producer of Survivor. In 2015, he was convicted in Mexico of the murder of his wife, Mônica. He was released after serving 7 1/2 of a 12-year sentence in a Mexican prison.

[POP] CULT CRIME CODE:

[POP] CULTURE MURDERS: [EX: The Jenny Jones Murder + The Jerry Springer Murder]

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK[S]:

CRIME DOES PAY: CRIMINALITY AS THE AMERICAN DREAM

2011 –Joseph Hall fatally shot his neo-nazi father, Jeffrey Hall. It's reported that Joseph told police he was motivated by an episode of CBS's Criminal Minds where a young boy was not arrested for killing his abusive father. Because of this, he did not think he would be detained himself.

1995- Schmitz was 24 when an acquaintance, 32-year-old Scott Amedure, revealed that he was romantically interested in Schmitz during a taping of The Jenny Jones Show; titled "Revealing Same Sex Secret Crush," Amedure, a 32-year-old gay man, publicly revealed to Schmitz, a 24-year-old straight man, that Amedure was his secret admirer. Following this appearance, Schmitz confronted Amedure and shot him twice in the chest. He confessed to the killing and was found guilty of second-degree murder. The Amedure family sued The Jenny Jones Show for wrongful death, although the show was ultimately found not to be liable. Amedure and Schmitz's appearance on The Jenny Jones Show was shelved, although it was later shown to jurors during the latter's trial.

Schmitz was paroled IN 2017

[THE ORIGINAL SENTENCE WOULD HAVE KEPT HIM IN PRISON UNTIL 2037]

Twelve hours after this photo was taken, 10-year-old Joseph Hall fatally shot his father in the back of the head.

[POP] CULT CRIME CODE:

[POP] CULTURE MURDERS: [EX: The Jenny Jones Murder + The Jerry Springer Murder]

THE CRIME OF COMMUNITY [EX: CULTS, RELIGIOUS ABUSE, AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM ]

[POP] CULT CRIME CODE:

[POP] CULTURE MURDERS: [EX: The Jenny Jones Murder + The Jerry Springer Murder]

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK[S]:

CRIME DOES PAY: CRIMINALITY AS THE AMERICAN DREAM

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

CRIMINALITY AS TRADITION: AMERICA’S THIRST FOR REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE

This intro set the stage for an act of revenge- and a cultural cord that strikes violence as an appropriate response to presumed humiliation. Our cultural obsession with the Colosseum approved the death of Scott Amadeur, a causality of our desperate attempt at covering our psychopathy with anonymity. It's a powerful example of how language, pacing, timing, and positioning aid cultural violence and intolerance.

ISSUE A

2008- Mark Twitchell

He lured two unsuspecting men into his lair by posing himself as a woman, and possible love interest, on a dating site.

Twitchell murdered one of the men by replicating the kill room from 'Dexter' while the other escaped. After he was arrested, police confiscated his hard drives containing hundreds of hours of footage. Now incarcerated, Twitchell even attempted to get one of his friends to take back the hard drives, saying, "Way too many amazing people gave so much of themselves to make that film magic. I will see it completed if it is the last thing I do."

2009- VH1 premiered a reality dating show titled Megan Wants a Millionaire, on which Ryan Alexander Jenkins

was a competitor. He murdered his ex-wife, Jasmine Fiore, Weeks later, in August 2009. The show was canceled after running three episodes. Kekins took his life days after authorities located Jasmine's dismembered body.

[POP] CULT CRIME CODE:

[POP] CULTURE MURDERS: [EX: The Jenny Jones Murder + The Jerry Springer Murder]

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK[S]

CRIME DOES PAY: CRIMINALITY AS THE AMERICAN DREAM

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

CRIMINALITY AS TRADITION: AMERICA’S THIRST FOR REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE

2015-Police Contend That Jill Blackstone — Who Has Worked On Programs Like The Jerry Springer Show, Divorce Court, And Family Court With Judge Penny — Set A Garage On Fire, Killing Her Sister And Two Dogs, And Staged It As An Accident.

[POP] CULT CRIME CODE:

[POP] CULTURE MURDERS: [EX: The Jenny Jones Murder + The Jerry Springer Murder]

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK[S]:

CRIME DOES PAY: CRIMINALITY AS THE AMERICAN DREAM

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

CRIMINALITY AS TRADITION: AMERICA’S THIRST FOR REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE

2000- Ralf Panitz murdered his ex-wife, Nancy Campbell-Panitz, hours after they and another woman were featured on a Jerry Springer Show'' episode about love triangles.

[POP] CULT CRIME CODE

[POP] CULTURE MURDERS: [EX: The Jenny Jones Murder + The Jerry Springer Murder]

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK[S]

CRIME DOES PAY: CRIMINALITY AS THE AMERICAN DREAM

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

CRIMINALITY AS TRADITION: AMERICA’S THIRST FOR REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE

[POP] CULT CRIME CODE

[POP] CULTURE MURDERS: [EX: The Jenny Jones Murder + The Jerry Springer Murder]

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

CRIMINALITY AS TRADITION: AMERICA’S THIRST FOR REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE

SUGGESTED READING

How Reality TV Became the Most Life-Threatening Genre in the World

SET THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

+ CRIMINALITY AS TRADITION: AMERICA’S THIRST FOR REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE

+ JURISPRUDENCE SHOULD EVOLVE WITH THE CULTURE, NOT DESPITE IT

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK[S]

+ CRIME DOES PAY: CRIMINALITY AS THE AMERICAN DREAM

+ TO FOSTER, TO WAR: THE SANCTITY OF LIFE AND THE PRIVILEGE OF DEATH

A LIVING NIGHTMARE

Avenging crimes against children is our cultural forte. Unless tripped like a wire, we exercise zero tolerance, falling into our most profound biases, fail saves, and righteous indignation, which keeps us in the loop of loss and disenfranchisement. The crime is so traumatic that imagining it sends communities into an uproar, with or without probable cause.

[POP] CULT CRIME FRAMEWORK[S]

+ TO FOSTER, TO WAR: THE SANCTITY OF LIFE AND THE PRIVILEGE OF DEATH

[POP] CULT CRIME PERSPECTIVE(S)

+ JURISPRUDENCE SHOULD EVOLVE WITH THE CULTURE, NOT DESPITE IT

Watch this clip from 'Outcry' [ a showtime documentary] to grasp the hold a crime like this has on a small conservative community.

no is an answer

This clip from 'Outcry' [ a showtime documentary] features Dr. Kamala London. Her revolutionary work in Child Testimony grounds us with facts instead of feelings.

Dr. London asserts that children should be believed when reporting abuse/neglect/assault. This is not a debate. This crime induces visceral, though justified, feelings that refuse to seek the truth. We are culturally reactionary to the crime yet make no effort to curate a world where these crimes can be adequately cataloged as a strategy for effecting change.

When interviewed properly, children should be believed and considered when they say nothing happened. Otherwise, you run a high risk of distorted reports and innocent citizens being wrongfully imprisoned. In this case, the accusation is the conviction.

The McMartin Pre-School case spotlighted child sex abuse convictions, the community as a wolf pack, and how we're trained to ask questions later.

The late 80s-early 90s was the era of satanic panic. At this time, there was a cultural belief that Satanists had infiltrated American childcare systems, orchestrating an in-depth pipeline for abuse.

When children are involved, our emotional wires are tripped; innocent people suffer, and children will go unavenged. We must be able to separate outrage from practicality while refocusing our efforts on preemptive measures rather than retribution. We guarantee a new generation of casualties whenever we convict the wrong person.

NOTE: This project [ and report] are not framed by guilt or innocence. We are not here to debate what we already know-murder is wrong. We are past that. That's obvious. This is about seeing the landscape and where it falls short. For Example, Joseph Hall committed a crime, but what part did culture play in that crime? In truth, what we tolerate, celebrate, or protect as a culture lays the groundwork for violence. Perhaps, if Joseph had been listened to about his abuse, he wouldn't be in prison today—time to take responsibility for how we wage violence through words and cultural practices.

NAME YOUR casualty: WHEN

CHILDHOOD IS ERADICATED BY BIAS

Our culture believes in protecting children, but only under specific circumstances. Childhood is not fixed and should not be governed by impenetrable solutions. We mark childhood by race, sexuality, gender, class, religious affliction, social rank, and historical bias.

On May 5, 1993, three eight-year-old boys (Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers) were reported missing in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Pictured in the top row:

Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch were killed in what was believed to be a satanic ritual

Pictured in the bottom row:

The West Memphis Three [ Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelly] were convicted as teenagers in the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual.

On August 6, 2004, 16-year-old Brown met 43-year-old Johnny Michael Allen in the parking lot of a Sonic Drive-In on Murfreesboro Road in Nashville, Tennessee. Allen was a real estate agent. He also was a youth pastor and a Sunday school teacher and had started a homeless ministry at a local Baptist church.

On March 7, 1992, 15-year-old Bobby Gonzales shot girlfriend Krissi's RACIST mother and father while sleeping in their home in Frisco, Texas. Roz was killed, but her husband Buz survived. Bobby was sentenced to life despite claims he was manipulated into committing the murder. He now hopes to appeal his sentence based on an updated statute on juvenile sentencing. Krissi was NEVER charged.

On February 20, 2009, eleven-year-old Jordan Brown shot his heavily pregnant stepmother-to-be in the back of the head while she slept before heading off to school for the day. Twenty-six-year-old Kenzie Houk would soon give birth to her first child with fiancée and Jordan's father, Chris Brown. The crime was reported in approximately 45 minutes.

In 2012, and tried as a juvenile, Brown was found guilty. In Pennsylvania, a juvenile cannot be held in custody beyond their 21st birthday. Seven years after his arrest and two months before his 19th birthday, Brown was released into his uncle's control and would remain on probation until he turned 21.

Despite being the first cousin to Jarrell and Lindsey's mother, Tammi Cuyler, Chasity West had been involved with their father and Tammi's ex-husband for almost three years. Chasity and Arnold Cuyler's relationship began in 1995 when he was still married. After Arnold and Tamni divorced, it was clear that their kids were the obstacle Chasity couldn't overcome. On July 9, 1998, 7-year-old Jarrell Cuyler and 2-year-old Lindsey Cuyler were asleep in the home they shared with their mother when they were violently attacked and left for dead.

Tragically, Jarrell did not survive the onslaught. What's worse, though, is that it soon came to light that Chasity West, their mother's cousin, was the one who committed this unfathomable crime.

Roderick Justin Ferrell, age 16; Howard Scott Anderson, age 16; Charity Keesee, age 16; and Dana Cooper, 19.

On November 25, 1996, Richard "Rick" Wendorf, age 49, and his longtime partner, Naoma "Ruth" Queen, 54, were found dead in their Eustis, Florida, home. Their 17-year-old daughter, Jennifer, arrived home at 10:30 PM and found both bludgeoned to death. Rick was lying on the couch in the living room. Ruth was lying on the kitchen floor. Her 15-year-old sister, Heather, was missing.

The casualties were the parents of Heather Wendorf, a longtime friend of Rod's whom he was helping to run away from a home that she described as "hell." Heather and the other girls with Ferrell and Anderson were not at the Wendorf home when the murders occurred. Heather was never charged.

THE casualties: Richard “Rick” Wendorf, age 49, and longtime partner Naoma “Ruth” Queen, 54

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE

The inconsistency in statutes, charges, and the media circus is essential. The idea of a child/childhood comes undone in the face of subterranean bias that guides our justice systems' every move.

+ The West Memphis Three were targeted on religious bias. Had they looked and acted like everyone else in their small town, would it have been so easy to convict?

+Would it have been so easy if Bobby Gonzales and his girlfriend switched races and class status?

+ Children are often the casualties in wars between adults. In the case of Chasity West, they became obstacles to overcome, roadblocks to strategize around. Their humanity is a fleeting inconvenience.

We objective children to their core. Adults manipulate their feelings and perspectives with our damage. We use them as pawns with every intention. Whether we ask them to hold the weight of our problems, whether they become a symbol of resentment because ' we have up everything for them, whether they become chattel to fill an emotional void of a lonely heart, or whether we manipulate their love for us. to get what we want. We are constantly blurring the boundaries.

In truth, our culture views children as expendable and untouchable; such extremes will always lead to confusion, inconsistency, and manufactured violence.

now what?

community+ loneliness

#1

We must place the collective over the individual to make it. Strong communities are critical because they’re often essential for social connection and belonging. The absence of social relationships can have profound effects on our overall health. An early study on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic showed that loneliness was one of the factors with the most significant psychological effect on people’s health.

The effects of low social connection on health include:

+ High-risk factors: People who lack social relationships are more likely to suffer from high-stress levels and face a higher risk of suicide and early death.

+ Mental health. Social isolation can also impact mental health and well-being. Strong social ties are crucial to mental health—they can lower stress and anxiety and help people thrive.

+ Chronic disease: Research consistently links the lack of social connectedness with health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, immune disorders, cancer, suicide, and early death

Ultimately, communities give people a supportive group to help them cope with complex challenges, band together to solve problems, and celebrate life’s lighter moments.

#2

IF YOU BUILD IT

You can construct your community. Besides the many curses of social media, it does allow for a level of connectivity unfathomable no more than a decade ago. We all need social contact, but communication can evolve into many forms. For many, online communities and group support is their best tool for self-care.

Start a community. Start a conversation. Start exchanging ideas and insights instead of trivialities.

OUR FRAGILE MENTAL STATE

The Mental Health industry has the capability and the structure to be a catch-all preemptive measure, but we need to utilize our most significant resource to tame human suffering.

States ranked 39 indicate that youth have a higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care.

States ranked 13 have a lower prevalence of mental illness and higher rates of youth care access.

ON 39

Please take a moment to review the graph above. If you are a resident of a state that lacks accessible mental health - what can you do on the ground to effect this?

This project illustrates the influence of our cultural practices on our legal system. What we ingrain into culture cannot be demoted by law. This explains the varied sentences people square for an identical charge.

Do your research: Look into mental health for yourself and your family. Once you have the knowledge/understanding of the landscape, you can begin to map strategies for holding state REps accountable for the mental health of their community.

ON 13

If you are a resident of a state with accessible mental health services - what can you do to support others in their mission for equitable healthcare?

We should be proactive and persistent in holding our communities accountable and encouraging state-to-state communication by sharing strategies, outcomes, and raw data about the impact of these services on the quality of life experienced by their state.

This likely feels like an insurmountable task, but it is not. We've been convinced that our efforts cannot enchant change. As a collective, we are amorous- our experiences and relationships span the country. Another human being's suffering is also mine, regardless if it creeps up on my front door. Another human being's suffering is my suffering. No one should have to move to access services that are desperately universal.

You can research your state's laws around mental health. For example, the Mass.gov site in MA has regular reporting and resources on the subject. Most states do.

Example: Massachusetts law about mental health issues: A compilation of laws, regulations, cases, and web sources on mental health law.

The goal is to strengthen the collective. I'm sure we CAN ALL agree THAT:

+ No one should go hungry + No one should be sick because they can't afford to be well + Intrusive thoughts should torture no one with no access to relief + No one should be without shelter + No one should be discarded for struggling with trauma and addiction + No one should be violated + No one should be callously subjected to abuse and harm+ No one should experience poverty under ANY circumstances

There is no such thing as a benevolent struggle.

But worse than what it should be Is what can be/what could have been. We have the resources, the time, and the know-how-- but we're prepared to destroy each other instead.

#3

compassionate release

When strategizing paths to freedom, remember yourself. Your freedom and well-being are inextricably tied to the release of others. For the sake of this report, compassionate release goes beyond its accepted characterization-expanding into mental and emotional freedom.

Take the time to research and read through the foundational principles of harm reduction. Harm Reduction is the most realistic community response model to the effects of trauma and addiction. Though the regulations have been associated with addressing racialized drug policies and community harm, they apply to a more significant issue our country faces. We're accustomed to believing in the myth of a self-made person. Everyone had had some support in one form or another. We shift the narrative to being a community and a collective, not a hierarchal death trap.

Harm Reduction is solution-based. It is such a powerful community response model that it releases shame, blame, and confusing a human being with a disease. The goal is to tackle trauma with care, equitable health and wellness models, and de-program our culture of reckless dehumanization.

Inequity is not about choices: not working, not going to school, not your zip code, not your family history, not your privileged blindspots you're honored to ignore. Equity is a system failure and can only be rectified by unshakeable humanity.

Seek the root of inequities, not their symptomatic effect.