My name is Kay Matthews and I am the Founder of The Shades of Blue Project. We help women before during and after childbirth with mental health advocacy, therapeutic treatment and a supportive wellness community. We need your help as we want to shed light on minority women who experience maternal mental health issues related to postpartum depression. Ever since the loss of my daughter in 2013, and experiencing postpartum depression myself, I have been advocating long and hard for ways to help other women who had or are having to deal with postpartum depression especially in the minority community, where women of color are suffering in silence. Mental illness comes with so many stigmas and women of color are most often times seen as these strong women and that they never break. Well this for fact is not true and it is the total opposite and we want to share the stories of 5 women as they tell their journey of recovery so that it helps the next woman to not suffer in silence

A project like this has not been done and we need to bring awareness to the silent struggle of women of color mentally after childbirth. In order to start this project we will need $15,000. This money will be used for the camera crew for sound and lighting, editing and marketing. Funds will be used for travel to the women’s who’s stories we will tell in other cities. This type of filming will require us to film for multiple months and we want to insure that we have enough to cover all cost associated. We currently have a journal that we use to help women on their road to recovery with postpartum depression and we plan to have a sponsor page in every journal that will list the name of every person who donates to this film as our way of letting women know it is because of you that we are able to change the way women of color suffer in silence from maternal mental health issues. In the event that we are not able to raise the full amount needed the amount collected will go towards promotional videos and towards our journal project that helps ensure that everyone that comes to The Shades of Blue Project for services receives the journal at no cost as the journal is used as a tool in the first steps on their personal road to recovery

There is great impact in what we want to accomplish with the making and completion of this film. For one we want to make it clear that maternal mental issues are nothing be ashamed of. When you see others have courage to tell their stories it gives other women the courage to seek help, and that’s what we want to happen. I know that there are women of color worldwide suffering in silence and we want them to see this film and feel like oh she’s “Someone Like Me” and have the courage to seek help. In the 5 years I have been working with young girls ages 13 and up to women in their 60’s that have experienced or going through postpartum depression and what I’ve learned is everybody has as story to tell. I’ve created several journals over the years, all to help women on their road to recovery and I’m sure to know that our journal has helped women nationwide. Because we know there is a need we have to keep pushing to bring awareness to this issue and also help continue to save women and their children lives.

If you are reading this I Thank you for taking time to read about what we want to achieve. We know that maybe everyone can’t contribute money and if you can’t we really would appreciate you sharing this project with others on social media, sharing with your friends etc. The more people see, know and hear about our project the more likely we are able to raise the funds needed to complete this film. Remember this, even if it’s not you that will experience maternal mental health issue, we all have a mom or a sister, cousin, aunt or friend who is a woman that may be suffering in silence and just think you are a key part of helping them see that there is help and It’s Ok to Not Be Ok You just need to seek the help needed.