On the latest episode of The Mental Health Download podcast, we’re kicking off Mental Health Association Oklahoma’s See Me campaign with a conversation with our very own Melodie Mills. Each day, Melodie’s helping people in Oklahoma City experiencing homelessness start a new life in recovery. She’s amazing at her job because she truly understands what they are going through and how to overcome the greatest of barriers.  
In Melodie’s own life, though, she hasn’t had many second chances. Instead, her battle with addiction led her to spending just over five years in prison. At one point, she felt like society saw her as a monster not as someone in need of life-changing substance use treatment. That’s why Melodie is one of the many faces of the See Me campaign. 
The heart of the See Me campaign is really driven by the fact that we all like to look away when we see people who are panhandling on the side of the road, people experiencing severe mental illness, or people who are experiencing homelessness. This can make people uncomfortable. All of the sudden, people look away to anywhere they can, their phone, the radio, anything, that isn’t that person outside the car window. 
The See Me campaign is about challenging everyone to make eye contact with people who we want to look away from, because that’s how we’re going to see what unites us — our humanity.