AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — Throughout the month of March, News 4 will be recognizing WNY’s Remarkable Women who are making a difference across the region. The first showcase is Jessica Lowell Mason, who creates safe spaces for people who are negatively affected by the mental health system.
Lowell Mason is a church deacon who started a support group for people dealing with specific traumas, is a doctoral candidate at the University at Buffalo, and teaches at Buffalo State University and the Albion Women’s Prison.
Leslie Archibald is a former student of Lowell Mason’s Introduction to Sexuality Studies course. Archibald said she has a disability and is part of the queer community. By attending this class of hers, she not only learned about understanding gender and sexuality, but also gave her a safe space to feel supported and understood.
“This is a way to open up and make her feel like you can trust her,” Archibald said. “She really values each of her students’ contributions to the classroom, and that’s really great.”
Lowell Mason said she first came out as a lesbian in 2001.
“The experience was very traumatic at home and at school,” she said.
Today, Lowell Mason’s teachings, advocacy, and life revolve around the hardships that began after that moment.
“My parents put me in therapy, but I think it was generally focused on getting the message across to me that this is some kind of phase…My sexuality “It was trying to tell me that this is some kind of phase that I can get out of,” she said.
She left her home in Buffalo, moved to Illinois with her partner, and was blessed with two wonderful daughters. But she realized that running away was not the solution, so she returned home.
However, when she returned, some people around her thought she needed further help and she was forced to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital. She was hospitalized for 10 days against her will.
“This is humiliation… This is humiliation… This is tearing apart someone’s spirit.”
Her family woke up and realized she wasn’t getting help. And they fought for her release.
“I felt like a criminal,” she said.
When she left home, her sister helped her form a literacy group named “Crazy Women in the Attic.” This name is based on the work of two feminist theorists, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. The group meets monthly and acts as a support system for people like Lowell Mason who have been negatively impacted by the mental health system.
“She’ll fight for you,” said Hannah Etu, Rochester’s Madwoman in the Attic community literacy director.
“Jessica really listens to people and fosters an environment where they are heard,” said Mad Woman in the Attic member Vivian Agnes. “She was always there.”
“I’m willing to say things that other people don’t want to say because I was forced to,” Lowell Mason said. “I’m gay, lesbian, or transgender…therefore I’m mentally ill…that’s what actually happened to me.”
Her passion is now towards changing that perception and helping others.
Lowell Mason’s friend and colleague Sue Frawley named her a “Woman to Watch” for her advocacy.
Sue Frawley said, “I think it would do some good just for people to know about her journey and the truth.”
“I know things now because I was on the other side,” Lowell Mason said. “And I can use everything I know to help anyone in the world, even if it’s just sitting across the table and saying, ‘I’m here for you.’ I’m going to try to make as much of a difference as I can for the sake of it.’ And I’m not going to think of you in terms of labels. I’m just going to think of you in terms of the kind of person you want me to see you as. ” That can make all the difference. ”
Lowell Mason also coordinates an annual card-writing campaign, sending notes to young people and women currently in psychiatric hospitals.
Kelsey Anderson is an award-winning anchor who returned to Buffalo in 2018. Learn more about her work here. Follow her on Twitter.
