We were met with some resistance in the beginning because some of our topics seemed taboo to discuss in the workplace (i.e.: suicide, depression, mental health and minorities, transformative justice, etc...). Our hosts, Bassam Habib and Lana Boleyjack, stayed resilient and believed that addressing these topics and having these conversations would help not only our library system but the city as a whole. Through our work, we started to realize that we are practically the only library system in the country addressing these mental health topics on such a large platform and scale.

Many of our guests have been therapists, mental health counselors, and mental health advocates that play an important role in our city but have not had an opportunity to be heard. Our system is set up in a way that helps our customers anonymously listen to the conversation and browse reading materials and our library stacks and collections for more information on the topics. Our staff has also benefitted from listening to the conversations. The guests we have on the show also offer numerous resources through reading materials, statistical information, local therapy and counseling references, and other organizations that offer free or reduced resource access to our listeners. This empowers our listeners to get the help they might need without feeling shame or judgment.

We have had other library systems reach out to us asking for help in establishing a similar program across their library system. So many listeners engage with us, some of which have expressed how grateful they are and how this initiative has helped them with mental health challenges. One library customer said our episode on suicide helped them tremendously, and another library member expressed how grateful they were to feel seen and represented after listening to our mental health in minority communities episode. This initiative has also given other therapists and professionals in the mental health field the opportunity to meet each other and use our library as a space for therapy and community discussions. All of this is free to library customers, employees, and our community!