Paulina and Jess discuss mental health and the Romani community with Dr. William Lacey, Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry at Boston Children’s Hospital, the number one children’s hospital in the country for the last 8 years. We cover Will's career, mental health stigma and access for Romani diaspora folks, generational trauma, why Romani suicide rates are higher in Europe than non-Roma, and the basics of seeking mental health support and offering support. We also take this opportunity to speak to Will about his take on the COVID vaccine and COVID precautions as a Romani doctor. We dispel some myths and share our vaccination experiences.
If you or a loved one are feeling suicidal, we encourage you to reach out to The National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.
Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.
You can find us on Instagram @romanistanpodcast, and on Facebook under the same name, and on Twitter @romanistanpod
We started a Ko-fi fundraiser to help us expand. Our goal is to release 2 episodes a month, create video content, like an advice column and other treats, and we would also like to register as a nonprofit so we can produce content by other Romani & Sinti creators. We are hoping to cover production costs, like paying for our hosting site, website, editing and producing, and all the rest. We would love it if you could contribute and spread the word. The link, Ko-fi.com/romanistan, is in our bio on Instagram, and will be in the show notes
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If you would like to advertise with us, email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com. We offer sliding-scale for Romani, Sinti & related businesses, so reach out!
You can find Jess on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele, and you can find Jess’ vintage and curiosities shop Evil Eye Edit on Instagram @evileyeedit & Etsy.
You can find Paulina Verminski on Instagram @_paulina_v_ and at https://romaniholistic.com/. Follow Paulina’s store, Romani Holistic, in Corona Del Mar, CA, on Instagram @romaniholistic
Romanistan is hosted by Jessica Reidy and Paulina Verminski
Conceived of by Paulina Verminski
Edited by Cherub
With Music by Viktor Pachas
And Artwork by Elijah Vardo