The Austin Bar Association is launching the “Stop the Stigma” campaign, an initiative of 2024-25 President Mary-Ellen King, to destigmatize mental health substance abuse struggles, as well as raise suicide prevention awareness in the legal profession.
The two tentpoles of this new campaign are the newly launched Stop the Stigma podcast, as well as increased efforts to recruit authors to write about these topics for Austin Lawyer.
“This campaign is important to me because, in 2023, I lost my ex-husband, ex-law partner, and the father of my son to substance abuse,” King said.
Lawyers are 22 times more likely to contemplate suicide than other professions.1
The podcast, hosted by King, is meant to highlight stories of lawyers who are in recovery, including what support helped them the most and how they found that support, and ultimately to teach others how to overcome their own struggles.
A frequent and valid concern for many who struggle with mental health or addiction issues is the fear that their struggles will be made public. Theoretically, this may result in loss of business, claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, and/or perhaps retrials or vacating of previous cour decisions.
To mitigate these concerns, many of the media pieces that come out about these topics are anonymously authored, such as the “Stories of Recovery” series of the Texas Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP). This critically valuable series of articles is authored by lawyers and law students in recovery from addiction and/or mental health problems but their identities are concealed.
While this concern is understandable, the Stop the Stigma podcast (as its name suggests) is interested in stopping the stigma around these conversations by featuring individuals who are open about their struggles. By normalizing these discussions, we can stop the stigma for those enduring private battles.
But we need your help.
If you are interested in appearing on the podcast or writing an article for Austin Lawyer, please contact Communications Director Billy Huntsman at billy@austinbar.org. If you know someone who may be interested in appearing on the podcast or writing an article, please encourage them to reach out.
Most importantly, if you or someone you know is struggling with addiction or mental health issues, please reach out for help. All communications with TLAP are confidential by law, per Texas Health and Safety Code Section 467.2 All you have to do is call or text 1-800-343-TLAP (8527) to get connected.
If you are concerned about the cost of treatment, the Austin Bar Foundation administers the Judge Mack Kidd Fund. This fund provides financial assistance for counseling and medical treatment for Austin attorneys and UT Law students suffering from depression or related illnesses. Visit https://www.austinbar.org/?pg=justice-mack-kidd-fund to learn more.
The Austin Young Lawyers Association Foundation also administers the Personal Crisis Assistance Program (PCAP) to provide temporary financial or practice assistance in personal crisis situations. PCAP can provide up to $1,500 in grant funds to assist an attorney who is unable to fulfill certain practice-related financial obligations because of a personal crisis. If your practice is struggling because of a personal emergency, PCAP can also facilitate attorney volunteers to handle professional matters for an affected lawyer during a crisis. If you are in the midst of a personal emergency, please reach out to AYLA Executive Director Debbie Kelly (debbie@austinbar.org).
Like TLAP, both the Judge Mack Kidd Fund and PCAP are strictly confidential programs. Do not be afraid or ashamed to ask for help.
Together, we can change the conversation around mental health and addiction and stop the stigma.
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