Keeping Mental Health in the Conversation
Mental Health Lou is a collaboration between mental health practitioners, non-profit groups, agencies and our community members to promote mental wellness resources in Louisville.
Director, Amanda Villaveces and volunteer, Niki Overstreet at the Shelby Park Mental Wellness Fair
Our Origin Story
Our journey began with a mission to create and promote a mental health calendar for Mental Health Awareness Month (May) in partnership with local nonprofits. In our first year, we successfully organized 25 events that engaged the community and raised awareness about mental health.
As interest and participation grew, so did our ambitions at Mental Health Lou. By 2020, we had planned 50 workshops, set to make an even greater impact. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic introduced new challenges, underscoring the urgent need for connection with mental health providers.
In response, Mental Health Lou evolved into a wellness hub—a central resource designed to connect individuals with mental health services and providers. We developed a comprehensive, free-to-use database of providers, benefiting both the community and professionals alike. This project quickly gained the support of the Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) and has since connected over 1,000 people to services across Kentucky.
With this strong foundation, Mental Health Lou has continued to expand its offerings. Our wellness hub now serves as a vital resource for navigating the often complex mental health landscape. We help host MindFest, bring professional mental health practitioners into businesses, schools, and other organizations to teach workshops and mental health skills, offer free suicide prevention workshops, and collaborate with local professionals to make mental health programs accessible to the public.
Today, Mental Health Lou is dedicated to fostering a community where mental health resources are readily available, and the conversation about mental well-being is open and ongoing. Our journey reflects the power of collaboration and the significant impact of our dedicated efforts to enhance mental health awareness and support within our community.
Meet Our Team
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Amanda (she/her) is the founding Director of Mental Health Lou and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice. She loves to approach mental health in creative ways that improve accessiblity for everyone. She regularly hosts workshops and helps with the development of Mental Health Lou projects.
You can contact her at: amanda@mentalhealthlou.com
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Emily (she/her) has been with Mental Health Lou from almost the very beginning and is a crucial part of the team. She helps individuals seeking referrals, manages our database and presents Talk Saves Lives presentations for all types of organizations!
We are so thankful to have Emily on our team!
Contact Emily at: hello@mentalhealthlou.com
Our Memberships…
Mental Health Advocacy is an important part of our mission, which is why we actively join and connect with organizations throughout Kentucky that focus on mental health and wellbeing. We’re proud to be a members and/or donors of the following organizations and encourage you to follow and support them as well!
Meet Our Non-Profit…
The Mental Health Lou Fund
Our 501(c)(3) non-profit
In 2022 we initiated a non-profit wing of Mental Health Lou to expand our outreach efforts.
The Mental Health Lou Fund promotes mental wellness by increasing access to mental health services and decreasing stigma through education and programs while centering our work in historically underserved and disconnected communities throughout Louisville.
Ways to get involved…
VOLUNTEER
DONATE
TAKE CARE OF YOU
Meet Our Board
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Liz Bryan Amick is the owner of Alignment Bookkeeping and Finance. Her experience includes over 20 years in the fields of education, personal and small business finance, community relations, and mental health support. A Chicago native, she has a BA in English from the University of Iowa, and an MS in Family and Consumer Sciences from University of Kentucky. The current President of the Friends of the Louisville Free Public Library, Liz has worked with many non-profit agencies since making Louisville her home in 2008.
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As a practicing licensed mental health therapist in Kentucky - Shannon sees first hand the powers that 1-1 counseling has in peoples lives. She knows the counseling hour is important and helpful - but she also knows it is just one piece of the puzzle. Humans need to be connected with their communities and have access to spaces they feel safe bringing all parts of themselves to. That is one of the main reasons Shannon got connected with Mental Health Lou from the beginning - to normalize mental health in everyday conversations and bringing all parts of ourselves into safe spaces. The mission to decrease stigma and increase access to mental wellness care fits right into the personal and professional goals Shannon has for herself and her community. She is a proud member of the board and she is personally committed to the healing process and will never stop growing herself with hopes to bring this into others lives with the work she does professionally.
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Samantha is the author of Alive AF-One Anxious Mom’s Journey to Becoming Alcohol Free and co-author of best selling books The Epiphanies Project and Boy Moms. Through writing and speaking, Samantha is passionate about sharing her personal battle with anxiety in an effort to normalize the discussion of mental health struggles. In her work, Samantha encounters the importance of prioritizing mental health and sees how critical access to mental health is to our community. Samantha is a proud board member of Mental Health Lou and You because they are keeping mental health in the conversation and helping the entire community put mental health first.
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Abra Sickles has more than 8 years of experience in healthcare, with a focus on strategic leadership and fostering collaborative partnerships. She is deeply committed to propelling organizational growth through innovative solutions and championing public health initiatives to enhance community well-being.
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Carmellia is a Marriage and family therapist and is the Executive Director of Louisville Girls Leadership, who has a strong commitment to mental health advocacy and inclusive leadership . She developed a profound respect for individual stories and the importance of mental well-being over the years of engaging with youth. . Her leadership is marked by a dedication to making leadership roles accessible to all, advocating for diverse perspectives in policy-making, and mentoring emerging leaders. Carmellia's overall goal is making advocacy, specifically mental health, a more inclusive and empowering field for everyone.
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We're always looking for passionate individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions to help us in our mission to increase access to care and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health. Whether you have expertise in mental health, business, advocacy, or another field, your skills and perspective can make a difference. Email us at hello@mentalhealthlou.com with any questions or inquiries
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As a first generation professional and the eldest of three girls, Melina is an advocate first and foremost. Having grown up in Montgomery, Alabama (the first capital of the Confederacy and the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement), Melina knows firsthand the impact of history and power imbalances on us. As a result, Melina brings a hard-won perspective as an educator and community advocate to the practice of law. As a family lawyer, Melina often sees the positive benefits when clients have access to mental health services. Melina proudly serves on the board for the Mental Health Lou Fund to ensure her clients and the court systems continue to keep mental health in the conversations.
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Laura Watkins grew up near Louisville and graduated from the University of Louisville College of Business. Laura owns Pure Salon Spa – an Aveda concept salon and spa that opened in 2008 and has been ranked in Salon Today’s Top 200 salons in North America since 2011. She is a Purefessor in the Aveda Business College teaching industry benchmarks and best business practices to other owners in Aveda's worldwide network of salons. Laura has always had the misconception that people with mental illnesses were either crazy or weak until it happened to her. She was first diagnosed with major depressive disorder in 2015 when she found herself in a depressive episode that hit her out of nowhere. She has battled severe depression on and off since that time and has tried multiple different therapies, medications and treatments to fight it including ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy). Luckily ECT worked and allowed her to recover from one of the darkest episodes of depression that she found herself in at the end of 2019. Through her journey, Laura discovered that because of the stigma associated with it, no one really talks about mental illness and she’s determined to change that. She is hopeful that the more she shares her story, she may encourage others to feel more comfortable about talking about their own struggles and asking for the help they need.