Against all odds, balloons filled with helium transcend gravity.
Propel themselves above the atmosphere as if to return to the cradle of the universe.
Lighter than air, helium always finds a way to look to the sky and imagine something greater.
Pushing past systems designed to add stones to the pockets of bodies born to fly.
No matter the landscape and atmosphere we continue to rise.
In blazing temperatures where mental health is the hot topic no one wants to touch, helium is inflammable.
Resistant to the stigma and willing to hold and be a container for the truth.
In absolute zero, when it feels like no one could understand the depths of your freezing, helium remains liquid. Flowing and adapting, unresponsive to the biting cold, offering a new path.
Helium is unrelenting.
We as a community are unrelenting.
We have been advocating for centuries for the humanity and grace of those living with mental health conditions.
Each generation brings new understandings and we grow in our capacity to learn.
Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe. Our voices are the first.
We will use it to break free from guilt and shame, and rise to a new state of progress.
We ascend when we share our stories.
We climb higher when we name our experiences.
We soar when we come together in community and support.
When you look across history, one thing has always been present. People using their voice as an affirmation and a blessing with three simple words.
“I believe you.”
This sentence floats off our lips and carries a helium message, that your story matters.
Reaching everyone who has ever held their breath after the vulnerability of sharing their truth.
These words soften the bracing for harshness and bring weightlessness and levity.
“I believe you.”
When you share the way grief has cracked you open after the death of your loved one.
“I believe you.”
When you name you feel alone and need community after receiving a new diagnosis for your child.
“I believe you.”
When you say you are clawing your way out of a bottle after the trauma you experienced as a child.
“I believe you.”
When you tell me your identity and lived experiences are at war with a system that spirals your anxiety and depression.
“I believe you.”
When you share for the first time all that you have carried for decades in silence before you felt safe enough to share.
“I believe you” is a cresting sunrise illuminating a once dark night.
I believe in our collective bright future.
I believe we are reaching across the generations and healing bidirectionally.
Learning how to connect in empathy and lift each other up.
Letting go of the stigmatized stones in our pockets and returning to our ability to fly.
We helium bodies do not boil, freeze, or come undone.
Instead, we liberate our voices, connect in community and propel ourselves into a better world full of believers.