Awareness is dilemma for community, mentally ill
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People with mental illnesses – and their families and others who try to help them – face a dilemma.
“Yes, we have new medicines, new counseling techniques, and new technology for diagnosis, but the dilemma is awareness,” said Rick Torres of New Beginnings Counseling Clinic. “When one of your kids comes home and he’s talking about wanting to kill himself, or your daughter comes home with a serious drug problem, combined with a mental illness, or you’re having to deal with a senior in your family who’s experiencing Alzheimer’s… then what do you do?” asked Torres.
Torres was one of the speakers during the National Mental Health Month program Saturday at De Leon Plaza. He praised those in attendance for showing an interest in mental health.
“As long as people like you exist and gatherings like this occur, this topic will be brought to the forefront,” he said, also noting the small crowd that gathered at the gazebo. “But look around you, folks. Where is the rest of the community? Where are they? This is one of those topics that this place should be full.”
David Way of the Gulf Bend Center talked about the community’s role in working with the mentally ill.
“It is time to bring attention to remaining barriers concerning mental illness,” said Way. “We continue to see alarming rates of homelessness, incarceration and unemployment of the mentally ill. We need to target these three major community issues. We need to stress the importance of community-based treatment.”
September Lutz gave an overview of the “In Our Own Voice” program offered by the National Alliance of Mental Illness. Lutz and others who suffer from a mental illness, but maintain normal lives, go into schools and churches to tell their stories.
“I am surviving. I’m raising children. I have a full-time job. I’m caring for two elderly parents,” said Lutz. “Mental illness used to control every aspect of me. Every aspect of mental illness, I am able to control now.”
Proclamations from Victoria County and the City of Victoria were also read in support of National Mental Health Month. The program was sponsored by the local affiliate of NAMI.
Sonny Long is a reporter for the Victoria Advocate. He can be reached at 361-580-6585, by e-mail at slong@vicad.com, or comment on this story at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
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PML is correct. Budget cuts at the state & federal levels are increasing the mentally ill population in the cities. The states have shut down any long term care at the state hospital & only care for them on an acute short term basis. After they stabilize them they send them back out to wherever they came from. As long as they are homeless they cannot apply for any kind of assistance as they do not have an address. If they have no assistance & they have no money then they cannot afford any medications. It is a vicious cycle. More & more the mentally ill are making their way into the nursing home setting as that is the only place they can get into & get a way into the system. It's sad that we care for criminals better than we do our mentally ill.
May 12, 2008 at 8:15 p.m.I can tell you from experience from working professionally witH the mentally ill for years and for recently caring for a mentally ill person in my home--without proper assitance from the community, you are going to have a very hard time!
The young lady who lived with us until very recently, has had lots of problems getting the help she needs because of budget cuts. I belive due to the budget cuts in funding, she and others like her end up in other institutions such as jail. Now that might not be the best place for such individuals to get help, but at least it is a place for them to be safe from harm (from themselves and detrimental family) and other people see the problems. It no longer becomes just the main caregiver complaining about the problems and seeking help.
Also, society and biological families need to understand that these types of illnesses are sometimes genetic and go undiagnoised for years. It is chalked up as "that's just how she/he is". Don't accept that! Don't throw these people away! I have seen too many people done like that.
When an outsider steps in to help because an outcry has been made, be grateful and try to help. I know you may be tired of trying to help, you may feel it is too much, you may feel that you have already gone through too much and you are happy when someone else steps in to help, but all to often the biological family backs off completely.
This is the last thing that needs to happen. No matter what happens or who is trying to help, the person with mental illness is your family and they need you. All their feelings will most likely be compounded if you back out completely. For example, if you go from calling daily to calling once a week or not at all for what they consider long periods of time, they might feel abandoned and unloved because of their illness and it could cause them to get worse.
When a family member or friend is finally getting help, don't try to undermine the professionals or others trying to help the ill person by saying things like "there's nothing wrong with her--she's just that way" or perhaps you have heard or said this one "she doesn't need any medication--her (supply whatever family relative here) was just like that and they didn't take any meds" or how about this one "I give up on you".
This does a tremendous amount of damage to the pschye and to the caregivers of the mentally ill.
I say all of this to encourage others to support funding for mental illness awareness and legislation that will help programs such as Gulf Bend.
God Bless all of you who are working with the mentally ill and their families.
May 12, 2008 at 12:34 p.m.