We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ramese Hearon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ramese, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The story behind my business is an interesting one honestly. Mostly because I never imagined that I would be where I am today. I started out as a dancer/choreographer in Dallas Texas at a studio where I was training and from there I made the big move to LA. At that time I thought that was my “Dream” but I quickly realized everything that glitters isn’t gold and all sugary things aren’t sweet. From there I bounced from state to state as a stylist and creative director, eventually landing back in Texas depressed and broke. From that point, I decided to go back to school and get my degree in social work. While in school I had the inspiration to write a book; a tell all about what I had been through. Well I guess life had one more lesson to teach me and the book deal fell through. Out of that book I created what is now to be the ‘More Than Mental Project’ – a 501c3 non-profit organization focused on raising awareness and emphasizing the importance of mental health with an effort to provide the resources necessary to create long term stability through therapeutic community. Things started to become a lot clearer in my life and I started to see a much bigger purpose. Through this project I have been able to impact, educate and inspire. I have also been able to connect my biggest passion through the project – DANCE. I created More Than Movement – a collective created with a purpose of healing. Our main goals are to help every dancer see the value in their craft, and how it can give them strength, help them grow both as an artist and human, and most importantly how to accept and love themselves for everything they are. We want to take away all accolades and awards to get back to creating, storytelling, and healing.

Ramese, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I had no idea what I was doing starting a nonprofit organization, everything was so new to me! I knew I wanted to help people from going through what I went through but wasn’t sure how. When we started we just wanted to raise money to help provide access to treatment and resources that hadn’t been accessible to people like me. Very quickly we realized we had something that could really change lives. We decided to provide quantity resources and treatment for FREE but the best way to do that was to do it our self. We grew our staff and community and set out to make the difference we wanted to see. We want everyone to know we don’t care where you get the help, we just want you to be able to get it.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have had to pivot a lot in my life and career. Like I said, I originally was a dancer/choreographer who never thought school was an option, although that is still a huge part of my life since I have had the opportunity to come back to it. I NEVER would have thought I would be a licensed social worker/therapist making the difference in peoples lives that I am today.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Meeting only a few short years ago, we quickly became very important in each other’s lives. Our unique friendship & dynamic makes for such an interesting yet amazing collaboration! Honestly I still remember the look on her face when I invited her to embark on this wild journey with me. I remember her saying “uh, my own mental health isn’t together how am I supposed to help” we laughed but immediately got to work. We built programs, projects & events that we knew we would want as people struggling with our own mental health issues. She has endured countless late night calls, text & emails, breakdowns and even more tears, but was always there. Still, I honestly don’t think we would have made it through the first week without Beyonce’s : Homecoming. Our dynamic has helped us in the brainstorming process of the entire project. Our point of views and ideas align in regarding the importance of mental health. We want to not only bring awareness but to make an actual impact in as many lives as we can, because we understand what it means to feel anxious, depressed, and alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.morethanmentalproject.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morethanmentalproject/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/More-Than-Mental-Project-112335311368320
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MTMentalProject
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWNTS1ZzEEwOcOVj9H8nAeg?view_as=subscriber
• Other: https://www.morethanmovements.com

Image Credits
Kevin Medlin Karina Jackola Byron Sneed Clery Moss