Picture of Health: "I Am the Fourth"

Kudos to Susan Sabo for her recent photographic project.

But for the people that Susan Sabo has met, a photograph is something more. While volunteering with The Village Program of Mental Health America, the Long Beach lifestyle photographer discovered that many of those suffering from mental illness don't have a single snapshot of themselves or their loved ones.  

"It blows my mind," Sabo says. "As a photographer, I have thousands of pictures of me and my daughter. I never even think to print them out. But there are people who would give anything to have just one."

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so Sabo decided to launch a project. She spent a couple days taking portraits of members of The Village, an adult recovery program in Long Beach. Many members have been diagnosed with illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD or severe depression, and have a history of homelessness or hospitalization. 

She set up a camera on a tripod, and held onto a remote in her pocket. Then she simply talked to them and listened as they chatted about their families and passions. "We walk past these people every day," says Sabo, who wears a "Got Meds?" T-shirt (she herself suffers from General Anxiety Disorder). "We assume they don't do anything, don't have anything, aren't from anything. But I've met poets, artists. Everyone has a story."

Sabo called her project "I Am The Fourth," as one in four people struggle with mental health issues. Through ChipIn.com, she raised $3,000 to pay for printing and frames, and handed out the portraits at The Village on Wednesday.

Beautiful thing, that there . . .