The Please See Me inaugural writing contest was designed to raise awareness about the issues that surround mental health and illness because the mission of our literary magazine is to give voice to those who fall into vulnerable populations and need to be heard. Our editorial team, board, and sponsoring organization all feel strongly that the disparities in healthcare need to be addressed, so that every patient, person, and caregiver feels safe anywhere they seek or deliver care, for any illness.

Contest rules required only that writers in each of the written genres touch on issues surrounding mental health, and extra weight was given to those who were able to weave this issue’s theme, Hope, into the story. The winners poignantly and creatively shed light on what it means to live with and love those who suffer from schizophrenia, addiction, depression, suicidal ideation, and, most simply, the masks each of us wear to get through the day. The hope, resilience, resourcefulness, fortitude, and endurance that these writers and characters express is inspiring. They show that mental illness has a ripple effect that doesn’t stop within a family; it sends waves into communities and the world.

Until we can embrace every patient and person as an equal, the world will absorb every tear of suffering, every scream into the night. We at Please See Me remain hopeful that by providing a place where these stories can live, those who choose to submit will feel that their lives are validated and that they have meaning. Everyone who submitted an entry to this contest has been heard, winner or not. Know that we will continue to fight so that your story, your poetry, your art will make a difference.

If in need of immediate help, please seek it. You matter to us!

For more urgent mental health needs:

Anxiety and Depression Association of America: 240-485-1001
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: 800-826-3626
Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America: 240-423-9432
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 800-950-NAMI

Tracy Granzyk is the editor in chief of Please See Me.