Search Results for: that way madness lies

August 4th, 2014

A blog that I published recently entitled How Bipolar Disorder Destroyed Joe’s Life attracted more than 20,000 readers, making it one of my most popular. That’s  a testament to the power of stories told from the heart.  It’s author, Kathy Maloney, was profiled in a subsequent story.

The Story Behind the Story

By Shannon Mullen, Reporter Asubry Park Press, July 7, 2014

They say redheads shouldn’t wear pink, but Kathy Maloney has never been the type to let the theys of this world tell her what she can and cannot do. That explains why, late one Saturday afternoon in 1980, an 18-year-old Maloney ducked into the Simco shoe store in downtown West New York, determined to buy the hot pink boots that had caught her eye earlier in the day.

Her timing was terrible. She heard the door lock behind her, felt a gun at her back, and quickly deduced she’d just stumbled into an armed robbery.

Two well-dressed men led her to a back room and forced her to sit on the floor with a handful of other terrified customers and employees. Eventually, the robbers fled with a haul of cash and valuables.

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The stabbing of Virginia state senator Creigh Deeds by his son, Austin, who later killed himself, ignited national headlines this week.  Early reports said “Gus” Deeds was released from a mental health center untreated because there were no crisis care beds available. Officials later blamed a Virginia rule that says the state must either hospitalize or discharge individuals within six hours after picking them up for observation. After he was freed, Gus attacked his father and then  turned a rifle on himself.

I was overwhelmed with calls from reporters because I had written an editorial in 2010 for The Washington Post about how Virginia was backsliding on its promises to improve mental health services after the Virginia Tech massacre. The Post tweeted links to it shortly after the Deeds’ tragedy. It also reminded readers about another Op Ed that I’d penned that described how Virginia hospitals were “streeting” patients — turning them away from emergency rooms — because there were no beds available. That revelation had come from a damning report by VA Inspector General G. Douglas Bevelacqua who has been a lone and relentless voice in Virginia when it comes to spotlighting holes in our state’s system.

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[Short trailer for Dr. Ruston’s new film]

This is my third blog about “everyday heroes” — individuals who are speaking out about mental health. In this final blog in my series, I wish to pay tribute to filmmaker Dr. Delaney Ruston, who grew up under her father’s illness; Ed Aro, an attorney with the law firm, Arnold and Porter, who is a champion for our nation’s most despised citizens; and Chrisa and Tom Hickey, who are extra-ordinary parents.

 These three join the list of everyday heroes  who I’ve already featured: two song writers, a monologist, a cartoonist, a photographer, an activist parent and a community organizer. My point in writing this series has been simple:  everyone of us, no matter who we are or where we live, can advocate for change.

We need better comprehensive community mental health care services. We need to stop the inappropriate imprisonment of individuals with mental illnesses whose only real crime is that they got sick. We need to bring an end to homelessness. We need to offer people hope and the tools that they need to empower themselves and recover. We need to care for those who are so mentally sick that they cannot care for themselves. Most of all, we need to educate our neighbors so that we can recruit them to help us finally overcome stigma. 

It starts with one voice.

Delaney Ruston emerged as one of those powerful voices when she decided to take camera in hand and make a documentary about her

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Glenn Close was one of the celebrity advocates invited to The White House

My friend, the Rev. Alan Johnson, was one of the 150 guests invited to the White House’s summit on mental health yesterday.  Here is his report. Thanks Alan for being our eyes and ears!

Are you listening, America?  The White House is talking!

Who would have thought that over 150 people from across our country who are working in the trenches for better mental health would be invited to a whole day in the White House?  But it happened! The White House brought together mental health advocates, educators, faith leaders, veterans and local officials for The White House Conference on Mental Health.

President Obama was the first one to speak to us at the conference, and he empathetically stated that we must “do a better job recognizing mental health issues in our children, and making it easier for Americans of all ages to seek help.” The President was not only speaking to those of us gathered, but to the whole country,where the overwhelming stigma on mental illness blocks people from even acknowledging there is mental illness and keeps them from seeking help.  In this climate of embarrassment and fear, the President acknowledged there needs to be education to overcome the misunderstanding of mental illness and support to come out of the closet to speak with authentic stories of one’s own mental health challenges.

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