Much of the tree lies sideways, a shattered mess of splinters; its neighbors loom, still reaching for the clouds. Under a photo of this fallen giant, a person with mental illness has written what the broken tree means to them: “Depression will wreck its way through your personal life [like] a tornado, tearing up the foundations of your life….But it is in these time[s] that we learn which of our roots are the strongest.”
The image is from one of PhotoVoice’s many international initiatives, which put cameras in the hands of those often left without a voice by society—from Indonesian migrant workers to rural Zimbabweans—allowing them to share pictures and words that shape their world. For more than a decade, the BU Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation has used PhotoVoice to empower people with mental illness and educate the public about their lives.
During BU’s Alumni Weekend 2017, Mary Elizabeth “Tipper” Gore (CAS’70), a mental health advocate, photographer, and former Second Lady, visited the center to learn more about its mission and see a selection of its PhotoVoice work.
In recent studies, the center has evaluated the effectiveness of several PhotoVoice projects in helping people with psychiatric disabilities pursue employment, reduce stigma, turn social isolation into civic participation, and create a social media community.
Zlatka Russinova, the center’s director of research, hopes that Gore is inspired to “share information about the power of PhotoVoice as a tool for public education.”