#iamnucisspace - Brianna Wells

This post will be the first in a long series of posts in our "I am Nuçi's Space" series, where we highlight the voices and stories of people who have come through our doors. We want to let people tell the world in their own voices about how Nuçi's Space made a difference in their lives.

Today's story comes from our friend Brianna Wells:

"It was probably another day to anybody else in Athens, Georgia, but I had reached the point of no return. Not just in theory, but in truth. I moved to Athens from a small city in Pennsylvania on the hope and dream of many musicians - the glory of one day being known. That day I walked into Nuci’s Space, I was far from being known. I had been in the city for a few months, had lost the job that brought me across the country in the first place, and was feeling veritably hopeless. Until I met the kind worker who welcomed me in and offered to chat.

I am not going to lie, I was one of the neediest clients I believe Nuci’s Space had seen between 2014 and 2016 in particular. I was in nearly every day at first, using the Internet and just staying on the couch, or buying coffee and drinking it, for hours at a time. At one point I was nearly homeless, and when I did get on my feet after getting some help, I was absolutely clinically depressed. I eventually did join a band that I met at Nuci's Space in 2015 and was part of their rehearsals, using Nuci’s facilities, and so part of my dream to play professionally in a band was fulfilled. During these two years I can say very much so that my time at Nuci’s kept me from suicide. I would look up at the picture of Nuci on the wall and think, how would it honor his life and the lives of these people who are helping me if I did exactly what they are trying to prevent? I had that conversation with myself on more than one occasion.

Brianna in 2016

In 2017 I had what can best be called a personal crisis and made some very poor decisions. I was not taking care of my mental health, and it showed. When in 2018 I had a crisis actually inside Nuci’s Space, the team called in professional support, and I got the help I needed, and with the most consideration I think I have ever seen in a group of human beings in my life, they forgave my outlandish behavior, because they understand mental health from the inside out. They took the time to know me as a person, and then treated me like a person when it mattered.

My dear friends who are reading this:

I hope you know that you can and should seek support systems.

I hope you know that you can be needy with the right people.

And I hope you know that you can and should be valued.

Nuci’s Space is a legacy for the Athens Community and can be for anyone, no matter who you are or where you’re from. I am well and living with my family in Pennsylvania now, and I am no longer depressed or suicidal, three years strong. If it weren’t for this organization giving me the time, space, support, and complete compassion they did, you may not be reading this today. Walk in the doors of this lighthouse and find hope."

If you'd like to tell your own story, post on social media with the hashtag #iamnucisspace!