Roots Up

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Roots Up, Mental Health Service, 591T Memorial Drive, Chicopee, MA.

Operating within an anti-force, anti-oppressive framework to raise up voice, choice, harm reduction & wisdom gained through survival as we strive to dismantle systems & build the knowledge sharing opportunities and supports we wish had been there for us.

04/23/2026

Unpopular opinion:

makes

People have died by su***de since the beginning of time and while throwing up our hands in a big "oh well" isn't it, neither is this. The foundational attitude behind increases the risk of force (which, in turn, increases the risk of su***de). How about or ? Let's eliminate what's causing people to suffer rather than 'zeroing' in on keeping them alive in an unchanged world so they can suffer more.

Again, this isn't about throwing up our hands and doing nothing. There's plenty we can do to support life to be a little more sustainable and to support people to find their own reasons for wanting to live...

But slogans that encourage people to keep someone alive by any means necessary to achieve that grand goal of zero cause harm.

***de ***deprevention

Image description: White background with curved text at the top with blue outline that says "Unpopular opinion" followed by black bolded text that says makes followed by black text that restates the first paragraph above.

04/22/2026

"Sometimes i feel helpless and out of control of myself and my life. Self-harm is something concrete that i can do when I feel like I can't do anything. It gives me control over my body. It makes the pain more concrete and validates that I'm hurting. i don't know how to heal my mind but I can clean and take care of cuts." - Anonymous

*We have changed the name of this project to 'Self-injury: My Why' for moving forward. (Thanks to LK for that feedback/suggestions!)

Share your why: tinyurl.com/WhySI26

04/21/2026

Force increases risk of su***de increases risk of force increases risk of su***de increases risk of force increases risk of su***de increases risk of force...

Break the chain. Change the story by taking force out of your response.

***de ***deprevention

Image description: The above circular statement appears in a spiral in black text around a yellow/gold circle at its center. The background is pale blue. At the bottom in black bolded text, "Break the chain. Change the story by taking force your of your response."

04/20/2026

Fat is NOT a four-letter word. Literally. It is only three. And it is neutral until society makes it ’good’ or ’bad’. What if we stopped treating fat as an insult What if we no longer asked people to contort their bodies into prescribed shapes and sizes to please misogyny, capitalism and the like and focused only on what made us healthy, strong and joyful? Imagine how different the world might look if we stopped diverting our power and sacrificing our emotional wellness for all this nonsense...

The hit so many of us take for being taught to hate our own bodies, for taking up space, for not surrendering all our energy and $$ to societal norms is profound.

Image description: Purplish background with a large black talk bubble with a pink outline. White text in the talk bubble is the same as the first paragraph above.

04/18/2026

Don't be a 'Bathroom Whisperer'.

“Bathroom Whisperer” baTHˌro͞om (h)wisp(ə)rər : That person who whispers to you in the bathroom about how glad they are that YOU took a risk and said what you said because they totally agree with you… but couldn’t possibly ever say so in any sort of public way themself.

We get it. We may even appreciate it… at first. Until we realize that nearly everyone who ‘supports’ us is a ‘bathroom whisperer’ and they all disappear when we start getting in trouble for taking a stand. At some point, we need you to stand up too…

Strength is in numbers, not whispers.

04/17/2026

Reasons I Have Used Self-Injury

“I felt such intense, overwhelming emotions about being born into a ‘male’ body that I didn’t know how to cope. Injuring myself was a way to feel control over my body when I didn’t have access to gender affirming care. Turning my emotional suffering into physical pain made it easier to feel, to understand and to live with.” - Abbey

This is the second post in the Roots Up 'Reasons I Have Used Self-Injury' series, a project aimed at breaking down the mystery and misunderstanding of self-injury.

Interested in sharing your why? Fill out the survey at tinyurl.com/WhySI26

04/16/2026

Sometimes, the 'crisis' isn't really about a person in distress so much as the people around them who are uncomfortable and don't know what to do.

This happens in families, in communities and in treatment systems on a regular basis.

In those moments, too many people resort to "whatever it takes" to get the person in distress to "stop", often causing a great deal of harm and sending the message that things like deep sadness, anger, etc. are "too much" and don't have a valid place in our lives and communities.

Learning to recognize if the 'crisis' is yours or someone else's can help prevent you from doing something to someone else to manage what's going on inside of you and open the doors to work creatively together to explore difficult moments and move through difficult times together.

Image description: Pale gray background with black text along the top: "Whose crisis is it anyway?!" Below that is a cut out of a mouth with red lips and a bit of a sneer to it. To the right of that mouth is the text "I need you to stop being sad!" in collage cutout letters. Below that is a sad/grimacing mouth with the following text to its left "I'm just sad" in collage cutout letters.

04/11/2026

THINGS THAT WOULD IMMEDIATELY GET EASIER OF ALL BATHROOMS WERE ALL GENDER:

1. Trans people could worry a little less about being attacked for being in the “wrong” bathroom.

2. Parents wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not it was “appropriate” for them to have their kids with them.

3. Men wouldn’t have to worry about where to change their baby because there are no changing stations in the men’s room.

4. No more waiting in line for one bathroom while the other one is practically empty.

5. No more listening to people feign concern for “women’s safety” when transphobically arguing about trans WOMEN using the WOMEN’s bathroom!

Oh, and also, our society might take one step closer to the sort of acknowledgement and inclusion that doesn't leave so many trans people wanting to kill themselves.

04/10/2026

What if we took ALL the money being spent on developing psychotropics, and searching for genes and other biomarkers of "mental illness" and poured it into feeding & housing people?

Image description: Black background with pale blue text reads as the first text above. A large "WHAT IF..." in a pale purple and green gradient is at the bottom. A red ballon is in the lower left corner with white text "NIMH >2 Billion" and a blue balloon is in the lower right corner with white text "PHARMA >100 Billion"

04/08/2026

You know that person that you didn’t check in with because you figured so many other people were already checking in with them and you didn’t want to bug them, too? Everyone else did the same thing as you.

Check in with the people in your life when bad stuff happens. In their life. In the world. Yes, even when you’re worried you might be ‘bothering’ them. Let them know you’re not expecting a response, but are there if they want to talk. Most of the time, you’ll probably be the only one who did. It will mean a lot.

Image description:

Slide 1: Bright blue background with large black talk bubble and white text with the first paragraph of text above.

Slide 2: White background with black text and second paragraph of text above.

04/06/2026

Reasons why I have Used Self-Injury

* Sometimes I have felt so far outside of my body that I was looking down at myself from above and the pain helped ground me and get me back in my body.

* Sometimes - in a world with so much emotional pain that I couldn't control - this has been a pain I could control and it provides a release.

* Sometimes this has been the very best way I've had in the moment to keep myself alive.

- Sera Davidow
Roots Up Co-founder

This isn't about suggesting self-injury is 'good' or the thing for everyone to do, but nor is it about saying self-injury is 'bad' and something that everyone who uses it should stop.

Little is gained by acting like those of us who use (socially unacceptable) self-injury are dangerous or sick. We're just trying to survive, much like everyone else.

Being able to talk openly about what we're going through without judgement or threats of psychiatric force matter.

Want to share your reasons for self-injuring? To help break down some of the misunderstandings and the taboo of self-injury, we will be sharing some of the reasons others want to share, too.

Want to help breakdown the mystery and misunderstanding by sharing your reasons on Roots Up social media? Share here: tinyurl.com/WhySI26 (link also in bio)

04/04/2026

If you have ever been held on a locked psych unit (or basically any carceral setting, you are very likely to know EXACTLY what R.D. Laing meant when he wrote:

"They are playing a game. They are playing at not playing a game. If I show them I see they are, I shall break the rules and they will punish me. I must play their game, of not seeing I see the game."

Image description: The above text is against a mottled green background. Very faint, small chess pieces are visible scattered across the background.

Address

591T Memorial Drive
Chicopee, MA
01020

Website

http://www.rootsup.info/

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