You may have heard of Mr. Roger’s phrase, “Look for the helpers” and more recently, it’s been a common reminder at our practice.

As an effort to highlight the “helpers,” the people in our communities dedicating their time, resources and energy towards wellness, community-building and celebration, we’re introducing our Community Spotlight segment.

In this new segment in our newsletter, we’ll discuss mental health themes/topics with our very own community leaders in Long Beach and Los Angeles.

Today, we’ll be discussing mental health and storytelling. Please start off by introducing yourself.

Hello, my name is Laura Tejeda, pronouns she/her/they and I am a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practitioner and a freelance multimedia journalist. I am the founder of the social media page Hungryineastlos where I share stories about community, BIPOC owned food businesses and magical people of LA.

Why is mental health and storytelling + community work so important to discuss?

I believe mental health and storytelling + community work is so important to discuss because it allows for people to see each other and understand each other much more deeply. We live in a generation where our "personal brands" are carefully curated on social media and communities are created online rather than in-person.

To discuss mental health means to allow space for vulnerability and for people to find similarities with each other based on challenges, successes and triumphs in regards to our mental well-being.

What do you believe is the impact of story-telling + community work on the community/population you support?

I believe the impact of storytelling + community work on the population I support is amplifying pride in cultural wealth. I love sharing stories of BIPOC communities and the ways in which people thrive despite challenges.

I think my work allows for people to feel connected to the community of Los Angeles, and East Los Angeles specifically. It's a beautiful thing for people to share their stories about communities that are often antagonized. I love when people share that my creative content makes them feel seen, or that it makes them remember moments as young children, or moments with their loved ones that have passed.

With that said, what are some major takeaways, tools or resources you can share with all of us as we navigate mental health and story-telling?

Some takeaways I can share are:

• Tell YOUR story, your story carries beauty and only YOU can tell it. There is inspiration and lessons in everyone's story, and when we share ourselves with others we may be making a bigger impact than we think.
• Live authentically! Bad days, low days, blue days are going to come. Healing journeys are the furthest from linear and being honest with yourself and others about this will only allow for you to move through it easier.
• Become friends with your emotions and feelings rather than try to make them go away. Ask them why they're here, talk to them. Assess what you need to feel better through them.

Where can our readers learn more about you and your work?

Readers can find more about me @hungryineastlos on tiktok and instagram, they can view some of my work at https://solo.to/hungryineastlos

Written by: Elaine Raif