Mental health is not a personal problem

On April 15, we should have marked Polina’s 23rd birthday. But her 18th birthday was the last one we celebrated together. In September 2021, after years of struggling with her mental health, my niece died tragically. No family emerges unchanged from a loss like that. Nearly five years later, ours is still grieving. But grief can also become action. Shortly after Po’s death, we founded The Polina Fund, through which our family and community work to support young women facing mental health and...