Writing Is Healing: Help Fund Poetry Books by Peer Writers

I'm Robert Elder, retired reporter and a certified Mental Health Peer Support Specialist. Peer support professionals use our lived experience to connect with people as equals in our mental health recovery. After a truly rewarding stint working at the Austin State Hospital, I’ve spent the last year facilitating poetry writing groups at ASH as a volunteer.

From the start, I told peers that their work could be published if they agreed to it. I was a reporter for more than 30 years, and I always got a thrill when I saw my name in print. I've found that peers get that same satisfaction seeing their work published in print and widely available within ASH.

To date, we have – with the permission of the authors - published four books, and their release at the hospital has become something of an event. I should note here that they are for internal distribution only. Peer groups are private, the subject matter often sensitive, and the journey to recovery long.

Here is where I need your help. I believe that these voices deserve dignified publications, with a quality of design that honors the power of their voices. This requires a skill level above my pay grade, but I have been fortunate to partner with two graphic artists whom I have paid a small amount out of pocket. (To date, I have paid for all design work and most of the printing costs.) One of these individuals and I have established the name Publish for the People, featuring the old ABA basketball in our brand. Personally, I've found that a lot of mental health work is accomplished on the basketball court, so it felt appropriate.

The books are taking off, and I'd like to establish a fund to ensure I can publish regularly and pay the designers a fair wage. They have been working out of the goodness of their hearts, but their livelihoods depend on contract work.

If you know me, you have likely heard me discuss the evolution of these works. Poetry is powerful, and I believe the books are making a great difference. I ask, particularly if the writing or reading of poetry has made a difference in your life, that you help me make this a community effort with a contribution.

Please consider forwarding this fundraiser to others if you think they might be interested. Thank you.

“If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” -- Emily Dickinson