Our Mission & Vision:

As a center, 7 Nightingales recognizes that very few people cruise through life unencumbered by stress, loss, illness, or challenges of a financial, professional, or social nature. Even the healthiest and most affluent people are not out of reach from occurrences like cancers, tragic accidents, or shifting relationships.

What do all these different instances have in common?

Every single one of these events affects mental health.

They force people into managing normal, everyday life while trying to cope with a major mental and emotional stress. Some people respond by medicating or overmedicating, some appear stoic while others fall apart, and some reach out for support, and some respond by employing many or all of these coping methods, and in no particular order.

Now add a mental health disorder into the mix. You would be an anomaly if you yourself have gone through life without having experienced a mood change, and it is 100% implausible that you do not or have not known someone who suffers from a mental health disorder. And yet, you might believe that you and those you know have not been touched by these challenges. This is the power of a stigma.

Mental health disorders and challenges and overcoming them have nothing to do with will power, fortitude, or “bucking up”. Like the length of one’s arm or the color of one’s eye, the way someone’s brain processes chemicals  is an inherent part of who they are. Similarly to how someone plays to the strengths of their physical makeup with sports, those with mental health disorders and challenges must learn to navigate the world playing to their strengths; and as with sports, playing to your strength does not always insure success.

Those who struggle with mental health disorders are not unique in that they struggle to meet the emotional and mental fitness standards that society deems as healthy. Many of us who consider ourselves free from a mental health disorder struggle behind false masks to meet these standards as well.

Mental health fitness requires mental health support; support that every single person can benefit from at some point in their lives. 7 Nightingale’s mission is to help break through the barriers that are created by the stigmas surrounding mental health by raising awareness, and to provide support to those who struggle with mental health challenges, as well as friends and family, and to connect community members with valuable resources.