William Allen White was called “The Sage of Emporia” because he spoke for the common man in middle America.

(9-3-18) Nearly all of my blogs are about our broken mental health care system, but this one is not. It is about free speech and journalism.

In 1973, I began my first full-time job as a reporter at The Emporia Gazette, a Kansas newspaper made famous in the late 1800s and early 1900s by its editor, William Allen White.  His son, William Lindsay White, hired me while he was in a hospital dying of cancer. At the time, the newspaper gave all potential employees a writing test.  W. L. White declared, “This boy doesn’t need to take any tests. You can tell from his (college) editorials that he knows how to write.”

I worked at The Gazette for less than two years, but it was the best of the four newspapers where I worked during my reporting career, partly because of its managing editor, Raymond Call, a wonderful mentor.

So why am I writing about William Allen White and The Emporia Gazette on Labor Day?

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(8-27-18) How would your life have been different if, as a pre-teen, your father had led you into the front yard of a house in a Los Angeles’ gang infested neighborhood and invited passersby to slug you because he wanted to make you “tougher?”

The woman, who was beaten by neighbors and strangers at her father’s invitation, was one of five speakers at a national housing summit hosted by the Corporation For Supportive Housing (CSH). Its  mission is to end homelessness by constructing more affordable housing, and I proudly serve on the CSH board.

Listening to individuals who have overcome adversities is always inspiring, regardless of the different types of barriers each of them faced. The five summit presenters were especially interesting to me because of the diverse paths that had caused each of them to become homeless.

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Photos of inmates with mental illnesses who have died in jails. Courtesy Virginia Pilot newspaper

(8-23-18) The Virginian Pilot newspaper has published an extraordinary series – the first ever comprehensive study that tracks deaths of individuals with mental illnesses in jails. It is entitled: Mental illness is a death sentence for many in America’s jails.

Even those of us who are familiar with the inappropriate jailing of Americans who are sick will be shocked by the newspaper’s reporting and the graphics that accompany it. (Please share the series with your local elected leaders.)

Students from Marquette University helped the newspaper track the deaths of 404 inmates with mental illnesses who have died in jails since 2010. They collected information from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Here are some headlines from this poignant investigative series:

At least 33 times since 2010, inmates with mental illness have died after their family or friends contacted jails to warn of their loved one’s mental health problems.

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(8-20-18) Sadly, mental illnesses never take a vacation, but I do. One final week before I return to work. I’ll be back then with posts, but right now I have to drive a buddy of mine who is waiting. She is impatient. Have a great day and thanks for your support and advocacy.  

(8-17-18) Taking a much needed break this week, but I wanted to share this blog with you that I first posted in 2014. It remains one of my most popular and haunting posts.) 

My Husband Joe 

By Kathleen Maloney

My husband Joe and I enjoyed 18 wonderful years together. We had a beautiful daughter and our lives were filled with love, laughter, joy, hard work and exciting plans for the future.

That was before he got sick, before he was diagnosed with a mental illness.

The first sign came in December 2003 two weeks after Joe got laid off  from a company where he had worked for 20 years. On Christmas Day, he became so distraught he collapsed on the floor. At the emergency room, a doctor suggested that it was stress that caused him to become depressed. Joe calmed down and we made a follow up appointment with our doctor. Click to continue…