Category Archives: advocate

Admitting the horror

It has come to our attention that David has admitted to trying to kill animals with his hands, and with chemicals. I don’t fault David for admitting the horror that he has tried.  I don’t fault him for it, it is a symptom of his mental illnesses. Last year he attacked me more than once and tried to crash our vehicle when we were doing a transport of him to the mental health unit at the hospital.  Given that he has admitted these things, and our family has experienced the things that we have from him, why would I just bring him home? He is my son.  And I love him.  But. But he is not the only person to take into consideration.  Would it not be considered neglect or abuse to subject the rest of the family to a threat of harm from David?  He has shown the propensity

read more

Erasing The Stigma That Comes With Mental Illness

While it may seem easy for me to say something like “we should not stigmatize the mentally ill for the mental illnesses that they have”, because in reality, the mentally ill have no more control over their illness than someone with a neuropathy, or cancer.  David, for example, didn’t ask to have mental illnesses.  He didn’t ask to be born addicted to drugs.  He was born this way. Now, it should be clear, it is important to note that we should not make excuses for behaviors.  Though behaviors are often a manifestation of the underlying condition, the behaviors can not be excused.  Accountability can be held for those who are mentally ill and the behaviors that they exhibit.  To move forward in care, we need to embrace the diagnosis.  We need to ensure that we are not scapegoating these people.  They should not be hidden away from society.  We need

read more

On Public Speaking

Heart pounding. Hands are shaking. Sweat rolling down my back. I can do this. It is not like the topic is foreign to me. I am preparing to speak for approximately 20 minutes to a Human Services Committee in our State Capitol. The lady next to me, someone I know, has offered to help me hand out speaking notes to the legislators.  I have prepared myself as much as I can, my display is hidden and ready. I walk to the podium. Seems surreal.  As I grasp the sides of the lectern to prevent an obvious display of my nerves, I began to speak.  Rather than opening with my notes, I open with a heartfelt thank you.  A thank you to the Family Voices organization in my state, a thank you to our Care Coordinator, a thank you to the facility, so many people and agencies to acknowledge.  I hope

read more