I am so excited to share that I was able to speak as part of Mental Health America and Doors to Wellbeing's Youth Peer Support Action Summit! Learn more about this year's conference here.
As Executive Director of the Students with Disabilities Advocacy Group, I was able to share my story of lived experience as well as a call to action!
Transcript of The Power of Peer Support and Disability Justice:
Hello, my name is Jill King; I use she/they pronouns. I pride myself on wearing many hats, such as advocate, student, writer, researcher, eldest daughter, cat mom, and everyone's big gay sister. I am also the founder and director of the Students with Disabilities Advocacy Group, which brings me here today.
I have struggled with my mental health for as long as I can remember. I only recognized my experiences as a psychiatric disability through my time as an academic.
Years of social isolation culminated in a treatment-resistant label by 16 and two suicide attempts by 19. As my mental illness dictated every inch of my life, it ultimately stripped away any sense of belonging. Knowing what I know now, I was in no way the only student struggling to cope day to day (Source on Belonging and Mental Health among Students linked here).
By the time I developed chronic pain at 19, I had already known a life of loneliness from disability. Frankly, I was tired of it. I learned in my education that a large part of what drives us is our need to belong; it's why social isolation drives the disabled community's higher rates of depression (Source on Social Isolation and Disabled Community Rates of Depression linked here).
As I met fellow disabled students, two things became abundantly clear:
Number 1, there was nothing here for us. When SDAG was founded in 2021, the Americans with Disabilities Act had just turned 31. But 31 years of landmark legislation can only do so much in response to centuries of systemic ableism. These systems were never meant for us, leaving us with more work to do despite the courageous work done to kick down the door to these ivory halls.
Number 2, we needed advocacy informed by lived experiences. Our campus had seen disability advocacy but only done by those adjacent to the community rather than being proudly immersed. This advocacy, while well-intentioned, lacked something essential. As we set out to establish SDAG, we prioritized being the only club on campus by and for disabled students.
bell hooks once said that, "We can begin the process of making community wherever we are."
In our first semester on campus in Fall 2021, that is exactly what we did. Because 1 in 4 Americans is disabled and with growing acknowledgment of both neurodivergent conditions and mental illnesses, this community is everywhere. Our community needed to be nurtured, engaged, and empowered.
We gained 20 student and community members in our first year on campus. In that first year, our Office of Inclusive Excellence brought us on to educate faculty on neurodiversity in the classroom. The office told us that several professors had requested this topic over the years and that our lived experience was needed as well as valued. Following this, we were brought on as DEI facilitators for Georgia Southern's McNair Scholars program orientation.
Through these experiences as well as our growing community connections, I started understanding my lived experiences as a strength.
In our third year on campus, we have over 40 student and community members. SDAG has earned a representative on the university's President Student Advisory Committee, which works to advise senior leadership at Georgia Southern on student needs. Faculty and students statewide reach out to us regularly, seeking resources and understanding.
But more than that, the disabled community on campus undoubtedly has something on campus meant for them.
Our community server is the first place for many students to seek help regarding their disabilities and day-to-day access barriers. Everything from navigating academic accommodations to accessing affordable mental healthcare locally.
Yet, as many advocates do, I underestimated the impact of my work until I was on the receiving end.
During SDAG's time on campus, I lost the majority of my vision over the course of 6 months. My vision loss was and is traumatic, but without this community, I don't want to imagine where I would have landed.
This sudden, life-altering change gave me confidence in this community we built. They rallied around me, connecting me to resources, offering rides, and listening ears.
Research confirms that peer support-based community programs positively impact the wellbeing of students within marginalized groups (Source on the Benefits of Community Programs for Marginalized Students linked here).
And for many students, this is the first space they have known full of their community. Members of our GSU executive board who have been disabled throughout their lives have shared with me how SDAG was their first community to value cross-disability solidarity as well as disability pride. Though our conditions vary, our struggles are the same. By holding pride in our marginalized identities, we're able to advocate for ourselves and each other more authentically.
Most commonly, it is our students with neurodivergent conditions and mental illnesses who hesitate to recognize this community as their own. Every time we have tabled on campus, at least one student has come up and asked us "Does this include mental disabilities?". When I hear that question, I hear "Is this community meant for me?". My answer is always yes.
As someone who spent years in a similar position, we've made a point to prioritize embracing these shared identities, especially with the prevalence of both on college campuses (Source on Mental Illness on College Campuses linked here; Source on Neurodivergent Conditions on College Campuses linked here).
It is an incredibly personal journey to understand and identify with disability, and we make a point to meet students where they are.
By adapting and advocating together, we strengthen one another as advocates, which has a ripple effect. Peer support's individual and community impact empowers disabled people in all environments.
Earlier this year, the Students with Disabilities Advocacy Group became a national nonprofit organization. We did this in the hopes of helping disabled college students build their own communities through grassroots organizing and mentorship.
We are desperately in need of a new wave of post-ADA disability advocacy, and I believe Gen Z is who should take charge.
During the start of the disability rights movement in the 1960s and 70s, activists laid down in front of buses to call attention when they were ignored. Gen Z has that same sort of power.
So here's my call to action: SDAG has two programs accepting applications for their Fall 2024 cohorts.
Our Affiliate Program is for students already taking charge on their campuses. By becoming an SDAG affiliate, you can connect to a national base of disability advocates.
Our Campus Chapter Program is for students who want to advocate within their communities but don't know where to start. You know your community best; we want to help you make change right at home.
Question and Answer
Audience Question: How would you recommend starting conversations that encourage connection for youth new to peer support?
My Answer: It partly depends on their background with disability. Perspectives for someone born disabled versus those with a progressive disability can vary widely. So, making sure to meet people where they are is essential.
I also know that students new to our groups will struggle to open up when coping with internalized ableism, which is very common for people. So, holding space for those tough-to-navigate feelings that come from implicit bias is important too.
Audience Question: How can disabled youth engage in SDAG if they aren't in college?
My Answer: That's a great question because while higher education is more accessible, it is not truly accessible. Each of our chapters will be open to disabled community members, but as of now, it is just our pilot chapter at Georgia Southern. Otherwise, our website's forum (linked here) is open to the public, and many of our hybrid meetings are as well.
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