Schizophrenic.NYC

Created by Michelle Hammer, a Schizophrenic New York City resident who wants to make a change in the way New York City see's mental health, especially the mentally ill homeless. I also donate a portion of the profits to help them out. For many of my shirts I used the idea of the Rorschach Test. The idea is that when the unmedicated person with Schizophrenia looks at a solid black regular test they will see it from a very different perspective. When they see that I have switched up the patterns and colors inside the test (they look awesome) now everyone looks at that test from a different perspective. This makes people think differently and starts a discussion. Only through discussion of mental health can we try to reduce the stigma of mental illness in New York City. Especially when the statistic is that 1 in 5 New Yorkers suffer from a mental health issue, yet no one really knows that because mental health isn't spoken about. I'm using the medium of artwork and clothing to start a discussion and reduce stigma in NYC. I started this company in May of 2016 and it's been quite a ride. I've now developed to text tees as well as the ones with the Rorschach Test. One is “DONT BE PARANOID, YOU LOOK GREAT.” and the other is, “IT'S NOT A DELUSION. YOU ARE INCREDIBLE.” People have been loving them. I got featured on websites such as, Mashable, BuzzFeed, The Daily Mail, Shape, Stylist, Aplus and more. I had the opportunity to speak at a few schools in New York City, most notably New York University. When I speak at these engagements I talk my life and story of having Schizophrenia. I first sought help at 18, however I wasn't correctly diagnosed until the age of 22. It was quite the ride.