Blackbird Mental Health was started by 3 Jefferson County highschool students, Alexander Makdah, Lola Myers, Onesty Gipson, and Pritha Saha. Because of our first-hand experiences with some of the issues of the mental health system, and from the stories we've heard from those in our immediate—and broader Kentucky—community, we want to connect people in Kentucky, esspecially those in rural areas. People in rural areas have some of the worst mental health outcomes, and nationally rural counties have the highsest rates of suicide when compared with other counties with higher urbanization. There are many factors contributing to this disparity, including limited access to quality mental health resources and higher rates of poverty. With the Blackbird project, we hope to connect those in Rural Areas with the quality mental health resources they lack.
