Artist on mission to end stigma of mental health

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — Rene Gomez is using his paintbrush to battle the stigma of mental health.

Gomez was chosen this summer to paint two large-scale murals in Central Falls and Pawtucket in hopes of getting his message across that it’s OK to ask for help.

“The first mural I created for the Mental Health Stigma Campaign was in Central Falls at Sparky’s Restaurant and the second mural in Pawtucket on the side of the Graham Building,” he said.

Gomez has been creating murals since 2015. The main color he uses is yellow, noting that it is going to grab your attention no matter where it is.

“Mental health is something very important nowadays. It’s everywhere, we all go through it no matter where we are,” he said. “It’s a worldwide issue, and I’m just trying to bring more awareness to it and not make it a stigma anymore.”

Gomez said he deals with mental health as well.

“I suffer from ADHD and I struggle with it every day. I also have an autistic son and it’s also something touching, meaningful to my heart,” he explained. “Being Hispanic, I had to put a Hispanic message up there. I grew up in a household where it wasn’t OK to cry and talk about my feelings, and that’s a stigma I would like to break.”

The murals also feature sign language and it’s LGBTQ-friendly because, to Gomez, it doesn’t matter who you are — mental health is mental health.

“As someone who deals with mental health, these are some of what goes through my mind, and I’m pretty sure it goes through someone else’s mind and there’s a little light of home out there,” he said. “You’re supposed to read it, it’s OK to say no. It’s OK not to be OK. It’s OK to ask for help, it’s OK to make mistakes. It’s OK to have bad days. It’s OK to not know it all.”

Rene credits assistant Maria Payano with helping him tell the story through art.