Eating disorders are a mental illness, even if they aren't always thought of in that way.
Hillary Pacha is an eating disorder recovery coach. She opened a nonprofit in Bloomington to help those with eating disorders four years ago this week, for reasons professional and personal.
“I personally have struggled with an eating disorder from a very young age, off-and-on over the years,” Pacha said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “It hit a peak right after having my son, who’s now 13, so it’s been a while and that’s when I was really like ‘I need my own help’ and I went on a journey to get help and there really was nothing in the area.
“I remember thinking, nobody should have to work this hard to get the help that they need and deserve," Pacha said.
One Hope Project is the first and only nonprofit in McLean County that focuses on destigmatizing eating disorders and providing education, intervention and treatment to those recovering from eating disorders.
Pacha also found that when working at other nonprofits in the past, there were always clients struggling with eating disorders or body image issues, further inspiring the creation of One Hope Project.
“In 2020 is when I decided enough is enough and I wanted to fill a need and a void that was in our community,” Pacha said. “We have a lot of great services, but [treating] eating disorders was not one of them.”
One Hope Project opened right before the COVID pandemic — and during this time of growing mental health awareness, more and more people are turning to her for help. She said her office now has a waiting list for individual counseling.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on individuals' mental health, including exacerbating existing eating disorders and even leading to the development of new ones. We've observed firsthand the heightened need for our services during this challenging time," Pacha said.
One Hope Project offers case management, counseling and prevention education/professional training.
Pacha said One Hope Project also has a registered dietitian on its board that they consult with, but they are currently working to officially add dietetic services to their scope of care.
Pacha said clients do not need to be diagnosed with an eating disorder to receive services. One Hope Project also helps clients who have disordered eating habits, body image issues and a negative relationship with food.
“Eating disorders and where we’re kind of at as a culture are behind the times,” Pacha said. “Eating disorders is kind of where domestic violence and sexual assault was 20 years ago. People have heard of it, people have maybe heard of anorexia or bulimia, maybe binge eating, but they know very little and there’s a lot of stigma around it.”
This week, One Hope Project is marking Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2024 with the theme “Healing in Community.”
To kick off the week, One Hope Project held a webinar on Monday titled “Dismantling the Stigma on Eating Disorder and Diet Culture” and a Body Gratitude yoga class on Tuesday.
