Twanna House is a People and Culture Partner with the Clarvida People Team, supporting Arizona and Oregon. She has been with Clarvida for two and a half years. This article is based on an interview with her January 30, 2025.
Content warning: This article includes references to suicide, which some people may find distressing. Please read with care.
What do you like most about your job?
I like that I’m able to take my expertise that I’ve had in human resources for the last 25 years and actually support employees who work in the area that I have a passion for, which is mental health.
What personal or professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
I would say that my biggest accomplishment is when I was able to take the trauma and the pain that I’ve been through for the last several years and turn it into a transformation. I lost my oldest son at the age of 18 to an accidental fentanyl overdose over three years ago, and I also had the pain of a divorce and dealing with a not-so-easy custody situation. I was able to take that pain and all that I’ve been through, along with my lived experience with mental health and dealing with depression for years, and transform it so that I am now an advocate, I’m an educator.
I’m a director of programs now for the Emerald Coast affiliate of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, in Florida. By being part of this, I realized that the more I was helping people who needed help and to be healed, I was able to heal myself. So, I see myself now as being a better version of myself. I think that’s the biggest accomplishment.
What other organizations are you involved with outside of Clarvida?
I’m also involved with the Florida Mental Health Advocacy Coalition, which is a group of peers and family members and those who support people with lived experience who advocate for legislative change. I do a lot with this coalition, talking to my state representatives and state senator regarding passing legislation that will help with better mental health care access. This includes dealing with the coverage gaps, especially between the ages of 18 to 25. Right now, there aren’t adequate health care services for this age group, and that’s when the onset of mental illness typically happens.
We’re also pushing for additional funding for the 988 crisis lifeline. Currently, I think we have 13 call centers in the state. But with a lot of the upcoming changes with georouting and other things, that volume is going to increase.
I have been connecting with the state representatives in my district and other districts because our NAMI affiliate covers four counties in the Florida Panhandle: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton. So, I have been connecting with them in the hope that they’ll be champions for our initiatives this upcoming legislative session.
I’m also involved with the Mental Health Task Force of Northwest Florida, spearheaded by Representative Michelle Salzman, who is the state representative in my district. I am also involved with NAMI Florida, the state chapter, as one of their advocacy trainers. So, the very thing that I’m doing, I also train others on how to do it.
Do you find that your involvement in these groups helps you in your role at Clarvida?
It actually does because, for example, I am a certified mental health first aider. So, I am trained in mental health first aid for youth and adults. And in my line of work, we are doing our best to promote a positive work environment when dealing with human resources, with people, and with the psychology of people and how that affects the concerns that we receive on employee issues, the overall bottom line, and culture.
Having that background is a benefit because it helps me to be more of an advocate, not only for the organization, but also for the employee. To look at both sides and to help them be treated in a more humane way.
Interestingly enough, even with the states that I work with, Oregon in particular, they employ certified peer support specialists, which is one of the things that we advocate and do training for within NAMI. So, the very people that Clarvida employs who are working in the homes are the same people that I’ve also supported and have experience working with, not only as peer support specialists, but also as peers, in support groups, and in peer-to-peer classes because of the programs we have with NAMI. I think that really helps bridge the gap, so to speak, because I have that experience from both sides
What motivates you?
My faith in God motivates me. My youngest son, who’s 13, he motivates me just to see the brilliance and intelligence that’s in him, to know that he has so much potential to be great and how I do what I do to encourage him in that greatness, as well as the legacy of my son that I lost. That keeps me going, because I understand he was always one to be caring and compassionate of people. So that’s my motivation to continue that. And really, the ones that I end up helping are the ones that keep pushing me.
I’ll give you a good example of that. Last month, one of my church members reached out to me and said, hey, I found out that there’s a young lady that needs some help. She just lost her youngest son to suicide. He was 29 years old. And she was looking for help, somebody to talk to. And they said, Twanna, this is your lane, this is your ministry, this is your calling, doing mental health. So, I reached out to her.
I had a chance to talk with her. And the wonderful thing was that I was able to connect with her, not only as a mother who has lost a son to tragic circumstances, but also from the aspect that I have attempted three suicides in my lifetime. So, I could talk from the aspect of what goes on sometimes in a person’s mind, which really, you don’t know what’s going on in a person’s mind when they’re thinking about suicide.
I was able to help her by just talking through it, making sure she was acknowledged and heard and seen, and also providing her with some resources. I knew of another mother who lost her son to suicide, and I connected her with that person. I also connected her with support groups that were just starting for mothers who lost loved ones to suicides. And she told me that she really appreciated me being there for her because if I hadn’t, she didn’t know what she could have done at all. But to know that she was not alone in the journey made a difference. So that’s why I do this and help in that way.
What lessons have you learned in life that you think are important to share?
Nothing’s more valuable than your peace. Nothing’s more valuable than your peace of mind. I think there’s nothing and no one worth sacrificing or losing that over. I realized that in my journey. I’ve learned that healing is a lifelong journey, and I’ve learned that peace comes with not only having faith in God, knowing that peace is possible for me, but also taking the steps to become more self-aware. That’s been a huge lesson of being aware of my feelings, being aware of my processes in my mind.
I heard a teacher say once that healthy people talk out their emotions, whereas unhealthy people act out their emotions. So, I’ve seen this transformation in myself. I used to be emotionally reactive and now I’m more responsive, I talk things out and I process things more. And I found out that’s been key to keeping my peace. And with that also setting boundaries for myself, saying no a lot more than saying yes.
For people like me who have an empathic personality, it’s hard to set boundaries like that. I was telling a friend the other day who has a similar personality, that you have to learn to set boundaries. Because if you don’t learn that, you’re going to be carrying things from people that have nothing to do with you. And you’re going to wonder why you’re struggling and you’re having issues. I learned that with my work, my activism, my advocacy, my ministry and things like that, I am going to be dealing with people and dealing with heavy feelings and heavy stuff. So, I’ve had to learn how to take some time to be aware enough that when I come home, I need to separate all of that, just release it.
What does Black History Month mean to you?
Black History Month means that we were here, we’re still here, and we’re going to be here. And regardless of what adversity has come, the difficulties and challenges we have faced as Black people, we have learned to be resilient.
If you think about Black history, you think about resilience. Think about all the great contributions that have been made to this entire world because of Black people being true to who they are and being resilient. They find a way to just bounce back from the worst of things. I look at all the contributions from Martin Luther King or Malcolm X or Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded Bethune-Cookman University.
Think about all those different situations where greatness has happened out of the smallest of things. You’re talking about Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, all of those people who have done some amazing things and inventing things that people thought they were crazy for doing, but it wasn’t crazy until it happened. And so, it just lets us know that we are tremendously resilient in who we are. Whether we’re going up the corporate ladder or doing things in our community that are radical and advocating for the protection and love of who we are and becoming a better village, which we’re on our way to doing that. So Black history means that we’re here and we’re still here and we’re still going to make our mark in the world.
How do you celebrate Black History Month?
Well, normally for Black History Month, the way that I celebrate it is basically continuing to do the work that I do each day. With NAMI, we have what’s called a gathering of healing. We had it last year and we talked about the signs and symptoms of mental illness and mental health conditions and how it impacts communities of color. Because the way that we look at it in our culture is not the same as everybody else. So last year we had experts who looked like us talk about those different things. But that’s normally how I celebrate Black History Month, by recognizing those who have been trailblazers way before me.
I think about my mom, who is 91 years old and still doing well. She grew up with the Jim Crow laws, in a time when they were fighting for civil rights. So, I honor her. I learned stories about what took place and now support any activities in the city that celebrate Black History Month. I do that along with my mental health advocacy.
What role did your mom and dad play in who you are today?
Interestingly enough, I was more chosen than created because I was adopted when I was three days old. And my parents raised me from that time.
My father was a Baptist pastor. He passed away about 16 years ago. He was an auto mechanic by trade. My mom did a lot of different things. Before she retired, she was a teacher’s aide at a school for those with special needs.
Because of the richness of their work ethic, one thing I’ve learned from them is to be timely, not be late, it’s better to be early. Also, about your word being your bond and being true to that. Those are the things that contributed to who I am.
My father was always a radical person by just telling the truth, even when people didn’t like it. He didn’t care about ruffling any feathers, about being radically honest. That’s how I am now when it comes to my advocacy.
Note: If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please dial 988 for help. You can also find help through Clarvida at one of our many locations by visiting https://clarvida-dev.web-mo.dev/find-a-location/.
