Building Supportive Stream Communities
Streaming, regardless of platform, goes hand in hand with gaming these days. When you stream, you create a built-in community of like-minded people - which can be a benefit or a barrier to your own growth and the growth of those around you. There is ample opportunity to talk about and around mental health, the struggles we have in common, the resources we rely on and ways we find where we belong in the gaming and streaming community. Let's talk about how we can cultivate a culture of support, understanding and openness - both on camera and off!
Learning Objectives
- Why community matters in gaming/streaming.
- Options for platforms for community building while you're offline.
- How to share resources without being THE SOLE resource for your community.
Momma Foxfire (She|Her)
Mental Health Advocate
MommaFoxFire is a mental health advocate and gamer who hosts a mental health-focused talk show on Twitch (plus gaming!) and manages the FoxFam community. Her many ups and downs in life led her to raising awareness about mental health topics as an advocate, and she aims to spread non-toxic positivity across Twitch, Discord, Twitter and the gaming communities she interacts with.
Momma has been living with depression & anxiety for 6 years, is working to overcome C-PTSD, and lived through post-partum depression in 2013/2014. As she became involved in various gaming communities, it always amazed her how many people don’t speak up until someone else would share about their own struggle… to which lots of “oh gosh, me too” comments would pop up collectively from others.
Now she aims to open up conversations and encourage honesty and non-judgmental support in her community and those she interacts with. Momma has 2 kids and 2 bonus kids (former step-sons who are still a big part of her family!), ages 7 - 19, who she is raising to be open to talking about mental health. She also believes if the stigma around mental health were minimized or eliminated altogether that her grandfather, who went missing in 2017 and either died to suicide or was murdered, would still be alive today.