'Everyone has the right to receive help & be the best version of themselves'
'This is my choice; this is my mental health'
'It has only been a positive'
"It's common to feel selfish to pursue self-help, but … if you need help to be the best version of yourself, there shouldn't be any negative stigma behind that. Everyone has the right to receive help [and] to be the best version of themselves and to feel like they deserve to continue moving forward in their life."
— Andrea, STAND at ELAC participant
"I've actually … had to deal with [comments from family] before, and I told the person, "This isn't for you. This is for me. […] This is my choice. This is my mental health. This is my decision [based] on wanting to support myself through things that I'm dealing with."
— Desirae, STAND at ELAC participant
"I know there comes a huge stigma — especially with people of color, minorities, first-generation [families] — about mental health. But these things don't have to be true for you. You don't have to carry those burdens through. You don't have to carry those negative traditions. And STAND has been something for me in my journey, when it comes to mental health, it has only been a positive."
— Bryan, STAND at ELAC participant
'Let me just give it a try'
"I was always told that I needed to suck it up, and don't cry. […] But at some point I just started thinking, 'Man, this can't be the only answer to having these issues.' […] I did my research and then got comfortable to be like, 'You know what, let me just give it a try.' And I went, and it's great."
— Fernando, STAND at ELAC participant
Protocol ID: IRB#22-000635; UCLA IRB Approved; Approval date: 04/14/25; Committee: Medical IRB 3
