Jenny Chan Bio

I have six siblings and grew up in Chinatown, Manhattan. I have an older sister who has been living with mental illness since her early teens. Mental illness hit me in my twenties.

After being attacked inside the New York City subway system at age 18, I was attacked again at the age of 21. After my second attack, I started to develop mental illness, feeling very fearful about when the next attack would come. My second attack was perpetrated by a man with a knife; we struggled and I called the police. After that incident, I was in and out of hospitals, including St. Vincent’s and Belleview, hearing voices and having delusions.

After suffering in the hospitals for more than five years, I was sent to a nursing home where there were other people with mental illnesses. After 3-4 years at the nursing home, I got an apartment in the community where I lived with roommates. I eventually got an apartment all to myself.

I have a degree in writing and art from New York University. I am a writer, having written for City Voices mental health newspaper, and an artist; my art has been in numerous art shows through the Fountain House Gallery. I’ve been a member of Fountain House Gallery for more than five years where I continue to sell my work. I believe I’m still in recovery from mental illness even after twenty years. Being an artist and helping out with the City Voices projects makes me happy.