We are forging a new vision from the apocalyptic landscape we now see for many too many people with serious mental illness. That vision is not simply about more treatment, although first-rate treatment is very important. It is a vision of what can be AFTER treatment — in the more permeable zone we call ‘community.’
We must recognize that a disproportion of those on the streets are Black and other minorities. This is the inheritance of shuttering our psychiatric hospitals without building community capacity and with ongoing inequities in the system. That capacity MUST include permanent housing, treatments (including for instance the use of evidence-based medication/where Clozapine becomes a first rather than last-line of treatment) and a pipeline to work intertwined with creative endeavor. This requires new approaches to making our workforce more diverse and reflective of those served, but also opening up opportunities for those who have been shunted to the very periphery of our communities. It is indeed a tall order. How that gets done will vary by state and locality.
Our goals?
To lay out a vision – a visual road map, showing the spectrum of need and how we need to move from ‘either/or’ to ‘win-win.’ Where until now we have had deeply polarized and divided camps. While this overly simplifies — those camps may be characterized by the one focused on civil rights and the slippery slope that can occur in inappropriate reinstitutionalization, the other, by the essential nature of medication and health care for the most seriously ill. Falling into the cracks of this? Hundreds of thousands criminalized and incarcerated, or foraging food and material goods out on the streets — especially those unable to follow a therapeutic and medication regimen due to anosognosia.
To move from polarized entrenchment to powerful advocacy for the most vulnerable — those with serious mental illness and substance abuse — including the elderly, children and families.
Our means? Through addressing the hard questions that divide us, our aim is to bridge between critical though currently adversarial voices — using deep interviews, podcasts and vlogs together with writing and linking with beacons of excellence.
