‘Project Blackbird’ Aims to Bring Mental Illness Out of Shadows, Reduce Shame

SUNY Plattsburgh will screen “Blackbird,” a film short that follows the lives of two young women struggling with eating disorders, Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in the Warren Ballrooms, Angell College Center.

A panel discussion follows.

“Blackbird,” based on a true story, tells the story of two women from different backgrounds who meet in a treatment center. Filmmakers said that while it features these women and their relationship at the center, “its message is vital and relatable across all areas of mental health: Connection with others and connection with ourselves are both imperative to our mental health and wellbeing.”

Part of a nonprofit organization called “Project Blackbird,” the event is sponsored by a number of campus constituencies, including:

• The School of Education, Health and Human Services
• Access and Opportunity Programs
• Wellness and Health
• Residential Life
• College Auxiliary Services
• Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

“Nationwide, we’re seeing an increase in college students’ mental health needs,” said Dr. Janet Acker, professor of social work and associate dean for innovation and academic success in EHHS. “If we can provide supports and decrease the stigma and worry in reaching out for services, it will make our students’ lives better.”

“The number of counselor visits at the Student Health and Counseling Center is very high,” said EHHS Dean Denise Simard. “It’s one of the reasons we brought in BHS on line with telehealth,” free mental health services made available to SUNY Plattsburgh students 24/7 in addition to what is offered at the counseling center on campus.

Actress Struggled with Disorder

Alexandra Miles, actress and founder of Project Blackbird, plays Noa in the film and has also struggled with an eating disorder.

“I knew that I struggled with something; I knew that I was broken, but I didn’t quite know what was wrong or how to heal,” she said on the Project Blackbird site. “I learned how important it is to love myself.

“Out there, right now, what you’re ashamed of, there is likely somebody else ashamed of the exact same thing,” she said. Project Blackbird hopes to make it possible to connect these people who can tell one another they’ve nothing to be ashamed of, Miles said.

Estimates among college students are anywhere between eight and 20 percent who suffer from eating disorders. Singer Karen Carpenter, who died as a result of anorexia in February 1983, put a face on it, but decades later it is still hidden in the shadows, and is seen as primarily a woman’s struggle. However, Acker said the data shows it’s prevalent among men as well. In fact, according to the National Eating Disorder Association, one in three people struggling with an eating disorder is male.

“Our intention for bringing Project Blackbird here is to help take away the shame, from eating disorders and other mental illness, and shine a light on it,” Simard said.

Sorority Supports ANAD

Riess Walker, vice president of programming at Delta Phi Epsilon, a sophomore early childhood and special education major from Norfolk, N.Y., said the sorority adopted the ANAD — National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Diseases — as one of its philanthropies to spread awareness.

“ANAD Week is held annually in the last week of February. For this week we hold events to both spread awareness and raise money for ANAD,” she said. Holding events such as a push-up competition “will not eliminate the occurrence of eating disorders on campus, but they will help people see themselves in a more positive light and raise awareness towards eating disorders on campus.”

Miles will be on hand at the event Feb. 26 to talk about her experiences along with the original “Blackbird,” Kendra Williams, Miles’ Project Blackbird partner whose story is told in the film. In addition, actress Erika Medina will talk about her struggles with an eating disorder in an industry that embraces body perfection at the same time as it practices body shaming.

Encourages Conversation

Open to all, the project aims to encourage conversations around the crises and stigma surrounding mental illness and help participants begin or continue their journeys toward recovery and self-acceptance.

Walker said that anorexia is very prevalent in Greek life and has felt the need “to adhere to a specific body standard while being in Greek life.

“I feel as if there is an implicit pressure to look the same as your ‘group,’” she said. “Nobody in Greek life is walking around saying you have to look a certain way to be in a sorority, but it's more of a mental thing saying that I have to look a certain way to gain acceptance in a sorority.”

Wednesday’s event includes:

• Screening of award-winning short film “Blackbird”
• Post-screening conversation with Miles, Williams and Medina
• Anonymous journaling activity for participants to reflect on their mental health journey to date
• A resource fair following the event with campus, local and national resources
• And free therapy for all audience members for a year through Talkspace online therapy

The goal of the live event is to encourage and empower participants to confront situations in their lives that may be causing them shame in order to give those situations less power and to provide participants with local and national resources — including access to mental healthcare professionals — to begin the journey toward recovery and self-acceptance.

Walker hopes that co-sponsoring the evening will bring even more people out “who may not want to go to a ‘sorority event.’”

“’Project Blackbird’ is a great opportunity to spread awareness about eating disorders,” Walker said. “My sorority has chosen to take a role in this project to help spread awareness; I think this is a great opportunity to change the way people may view themselves.”

For more information, contact Simard at 518-564-3066 or email [email protected].

— Story by Associate Director of Communications Gerianne Downs