Name: Giselle Molaei

Social Justice Group: Children, Mental Health, and the Pandemic

Date of Fieldwork: March 10, 2022

Name of Organization and person (people) with whom you met and their title(s):Nell Rainy

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did and what I learned about my topic, activism, social justice work or civil and human rights work from this fieldwork?:

On March 10th, our group was able to meet with Nell Rainy who is a licensed clinical social worker who works with the organization The Door. She said the reason why she got into this field of work is because she always loved helping other people and speaking with them about their issues. She also believes in trans generational missions which is what happens in our past or families sometimes we are the ones who have to work towards their goals.

A lot of people in her family struggled with mental health and addiction issues and she wanted to do everything she could to help her loved ones and others going through the same thing. Adding on to that, the company she works for, The Door, is a holistic youth space that is located in lower Manhattan. It was co-created by adults and adolescents in the 1950s meant to be a “shop for everyone’s needs.” Since teens were a part of the programming they were able to make something of the company that made sense to them.

Nell said that the pandemic affected the organization negatively and they lost many people that they were in touch with throughout because The Door works with many adolescents that are not very privileged and since everything went online and some people didn’t have the resources they had no way of seeking help. Nell says that Covid has resulted in a massive depression around teenagers that has not been addressed. She thinks that it can be difficult for people to open up about their mental health so they should be speaking with a person that they are comfortable with and connect with. Nell also practices psychotherapy and she tries to establish a relationship that is collaborative. She also says that talk therapy isn’t the only option for people . There are many other versions of therapy that people can try out and see which fits them best.

This was a very informative interview and my group and I learned so much. It was great to speak with someone who works with a successful organization that purely focuses on our topic.