It occurred to us that we haven’t been keeping you in the loop, so we thought we might fix that with a little introduction to who we are here at Marigold Health!
And because we love consistency and bringing you the stories and visions of our staff and guests, you will get one of these newsletters once a month!
Who are we, anyway?
Our Mission
— To give every person with a mental health or substance use condition a place to feel heard.
We use a virtual peer community to engage those with behavioral health & substance use conditions least likely to receive care.
We Made Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in Healthcare!
Shrenik Jain (left) & Ravi Shah (right), Forbes 2021 Honorees
From Shrenik:
“The award is great validation, but we must be honest about the scope of the problem we’re working on: 80% of those with a substance use disorder don’t receive care; an access gap made worse by racial and geographic disparities.
Our model applies peers, trained individuals in long-term recovery themselves, to engage patients continuously with a virtual community as they interact with different providers.
We partner with those least likely to engage with treatment through support that builds on shared lived experience while recognizing the impact that trauma and cultural identity play in recovery.
It’s not about reducing utilization to drive down costs – nobody wants to go to the emergency room. It’s about equipping people to support each other and act with agency in a system that fails them far too often.”
Certified Peer Specialist, Massachusetts, Marigold Health
Kristen has been a life-long writer, a CPS for two years, and is completing her BSW at Salem State.
It’s one thing to talk to our professional circles about who we are. But as a company that is driven by peers, we decided it was important to amplify the voices of folks with lived experience through the written word — let them tell their own stories.
Launched in August 2020, we have had over 3,000 pairs of eyes on our articles, as well as nearly 1,000 reads and 900 minutes of reading time from our views.
We want to introduce you to the folks who have written for us so far. Their time, experiences, and thoughts make the content of our blog rich and invaluable.
Anim Aweh is an LCSW, LICSW, CHE-Licensed mental health therapist, and writer. She has graciously lent her time and expertise to Marigold Health as a guest writer and educator.
Astrid (she/her) is from Brockton, MA native and Salem, MA resident since 2018. I am currently pursuing my BSW at Salem State and hope to pursue an advanced standing MSW next year specializing in community organizing or social work administration. My passions include photography, cooking, music, and my wonderful cat Doughnut.
Jay Maenhout (he/his) is the author of Sonic Representations of Categorical Difference in Diegetic Video Game Music. He has been invited to present his research at the North American Conference on Video Game Music, NYU’s Music and the Moving Image conference, the New Jersey Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium, and the College Music Society Northeast Division conference. He enjoys singing, playing the piano, and getting way too emotionally attached to fictional characters.
Joey Phoenix (they/them) is the Managing Editor of Creative Collective/Creative North Shore, the Digital Content Manager for North Shore Pride, and the host of The Chaos Within podcast. As a queer, transgender, and neurodivergent interdisciplinary artist, Joey is fascinated by the creative process and the intersections of mental health, creativity, and social justice. You can follow them on Twitter @jphoenixmedia or on Instagram @faephoenix
We appreciate every single one of our guest writers, their vulnerability, and the hard work they put into their pieces!
Thanks for reading!
Want to suggest future topics? Reply to this email, or get in touch with Kristen at khiggins@marigoldhealth.com with any questions, comments, or feedback!
