For the month of April I am participating in the annual A-Z Blogging Challenge. The Challenge was started by author/blogger, Arlee Byrd. http://tossingitout.blogspot.com
Each day of the month (except Sundays) we will post something based on that days correlating letter. Some of us chose a theme and others are winging it. My theme is the A-to-Z’s of Mental Health, Raising Awareness. It is a topic that is very close to my heart. I hope you find the posts interesting and you will comment and share the posts everywhere. To see a list of all of the participants or for more information-click on the badge over there to the right>
Today’s Letter is the Letter Z
Zee End of my A-Z’s of Mental Health
I believe we have a Mental Health crisis or more like an epidemic not only in America but Internationally.
Our local hospital emergency rooms, urban, suburban and rural, are being overused and over-whelmed. The police, first responders and family members are using them as the default-landing zone for those in mental health, addiction or homeless crisis. Our first responders are good people with big hearts. They want to help. We need to do better at providing them with realistic and safe solutions. Either these emergency rooms need to be equipped, trained and staffed to be a viable solution to this epidemic or we must demand their revolving doors be closed.
If we are going to have any chance of stopping or at least containing this epidemic we must each first examine the way we think about, react to and treat the most vulnerable in our society. Think back, can you remember the first time you encountered a homeless or a mentally ill person? It was not a problem in America until the early nineteen-sixties. Before the nineteen-sixties, families took responsibility for their own mentally ill, elderly and addicted relatives. They were cared for in our own homes, or they were placed into institutions.
The solutions will most likely be born from our collective hearts as we sit around our kitchen tables united as families, determined as communities to stop ignoring these atrocities. There has to be an answer somewhere between warehousing these human beings and continuing to put our society at large, in danger for the rights of one. Because of our fear of appearing politically incorrect, we have chosen to look past these human beings and do nothing. The change must start in our hearts. We must once again become responsible for our elderly, addicted and mentally ill loved ones and neighbors.
What do you think?
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