It’s funny how something small can become a symbol for something much bigger.
A great example of that is the blue door on a small house that came to represent a stigma-free, inclusive, casual community that offered comprehensive mental health care to students at the Ringling College of Art and Design.
The expansion of services and creation of the supportive atmosphere at the house with the blue door were thanks to Bob and Lee Peterson, Sarasota philanthropists and founders of Sunshine from Darkness.
Until the early 2000s, Sarasota’s Ringling College, had a one-person office providing mental health counseling and support to its students. People seeking counseling would do so in a very public way.
With the Petersons’ funding and Lee Peterson’s personal involvement, the small house on Greensboro Lane was transformed into a home for mental health services, with the emphasis on “home.” It had no reception desk, and the waiting area was like an open-concept living room and dining room. In other words, it was nothing like a doctor’s office.
The house was fully staffed, again, thanks to the Petersons.
The location and casual, homelike atmosphere, including a large backyard, meant students could walk in and socialize as well as receive counseling.
Perhaps the final touch establishing how ordinary mental health services were was the absence of a big sign hanging outside. They painted the door blue: people would just go to “the blue door” — which the center came to be known as — a symbol of acceptance and stigma-free assistance.
The center helped thousands of young people dealing with issues such as homesickness and relationship conflict, or depression, eating disorders, drug abuse, self-harm and schizophrenia. Since 2010, the house with the blue door has served more than 28,000 students.
The work done in the house with the blue door and the legacy of the Petersons continue today with the Peterson Counseling Center at Ringling College and the reigniting of Sunshine from Darkness in 2019.