Yet, her death was ruled a suicide. And by suicide, I mean right after the police manhandled her for a minor traffic offense and put her in jail. And I’m not saying she didn’t commit suicide. What I’m saying is that situations like this is all too common.

Meanwhile, the man that took the video of the incident was told to leave. And then there is this info to ponder:

A statement released by law firm representing Bland’s family reads, “The family of Sandra Bland is confident that she was killed and did not commit suicide. The family has retained counsel to investigate Sandy’s death.” A relative has asked Twitter users to use the hashtag #JusticeForSandra “so that our family cam get justice for her.”

Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis has acknowledged the concerns of those who say she would not have committed suicide and suspect that her death involved foul play by law enforcement authorities.

“I will admit it is strange someone who had everything going for her would have taken her own life,” he told NBC station KPRC in Houston. “That’s why it’s very important a thorough investigation is done and that we get a good picture of what Ms. Bland was going through the last four or five days of her life. [1]

From the video and the accounts from her friends and family, there is something terribly wrong. Still, this isn’t some random event. Black female demonization is becoming the norm.

Sandra Bland and Other Black Female Victims

The bigger problem isn’t that Sandra Bland dies mysteriously from a suicide that made no sense for her commit. Nor is the bigger problem of some type of mental health issues going undiagnosed. The bigger problem, from my standpoint, is Sandra Bland isn’t alone. The bigger problem is that Sandra Bland is another name to add to the long list of Black females that have died in confrontations with the police.

Let me rattle off some names:

Gabriella Navarez, Aura Rosser, Michelle Cusseaux, Tanisha Anderson, Alexia Christian, Meagan Hockaday, Miriam Carey, Janisha Fonville, Natasha McKenna, Sheneque Proctor, and Kindra Chapman.

All of them died from some sort of confrontation with the police. A few of them actually died in police custody while in jail (for whatever reason deserving or not). All of these situations have one thing in common: police incompetence.

Sandra Bland Should Be At Work Today

All of this brings about one simple conclusion: Sandra Bland should be alive today. Whether she did commit suicide is something I cannot answer. However, a lot of this situation could have been alleviated if the police handled their business a lot better. Then again, this is just another added life to the laundry list of Black females that die within police custody. It remains to be seen how all of this plays out within the history of Black female demonization.

[Originally posted at Chocolate Covered Lies]

The only problem is tat Welven Da Great is mentally challenged. And then, I cared for the popularity of the phrases even less than before.

You know, there was a day when mentally challenged/disabled people were actually those that we just didn’t try to laugh at. I know that plenty of us did behind closed doors. However, many of us steered clear of using their affliction as comedic fodder. In fact, we were told NOT to laugh at them regardless of how funny they may have been. In my day, you had to have respect for people’s conditions.

In the day of microwaveable fame, Instagram success, and Youtube yuppies, certain considerations go out the window.

Welven Da Great and Internet Fame

Nowadays, anybody can become “internet famous”. It seems that many of us are now being entertained by those that can’t help themselves. From Welven Da Great’s inclusion of the tried-and-true “deez nuts” response to Atown’s little man follies, the World Wide Web seems to be tickled. Even The Real Wings has gotten his fair share of love through Youtube and Instagram. If there is proof that 15 minutes of fame can happen to anyone, then these three are sheer proof.

However, I think I may be bothered by this situation. Is it me or is the new hustle dependent upon the ability to pimp someone’s mentally retarded cousin?

Welven Da Great and the Big Issue

Don’t get me wrong on this one: I do respect the hustle. I like that Welven is taking his disability and turning it into a positive. I also like the fact that Atown and The Real Wings are getting money. It is something to transform your life from the “easily avoided” to being part of the “wanted”. Thus, this is not a knock against anyone’s hustle.

Still, I would be remise if I didn’t point out the elephant in the room always eating the boiled peanuts which is reality. On some level, we have to realize that a lot of these situations are exploitive. It is time to be honest: are we laughing with these guys or are we laughing AT them? All money and success aside, are we expecting more people to find their mentally retarded family to pimp them out on social media. I would hope the sum of their lives would account to more than Facebook likes, retweets, favorites, and double taps for hearts.

Welven Da Great and Being Hustled

The saddest part is that these young, disabled men will ride this fame out until it flames out. And why shouldn’t they? For all intents and purposes, they should be getting it while the getting is good. So, you know they will host as many parties, events, and do enough interviews to (at least) stretch out that fifteen minutes of fame a few seconds here or there.

Yet, there are those that are taking advantage of these people with haste. Personally, I never saw the amusement of listening to a mentally challenged young that that reminds me of Sid from Ice Age. Nor do I find it funny to see mentally challenged people used for pranks and gags. Once the fame is gone, are people really going to care? Are these men really going to hold onto a shred of the fame and attention they have attained?

Welven Da Great Epilogue

To be frank, fame is fleeting. I wish no ill will on any of these young men. However, a lot of their situations reek of exploitive measures to cash in with the quickness. All the fame in the world can’t ever make me feel completely assured about these situations. In the end,America is the land of the hustle; even if by “hustle” we mean “put a donut in my retarded friend’s face”.

Mental health issues have not gone away, I’m afraid.

In fact, there is one mental disorder that can be labeled as a growing epidemic: PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). PTSD can develop after a person is exposed to one or more traumatic events, such as sexual assault, serious injury, or the threat of death [1]. It needs to be notes, however, that someone does not have to be injured to get PTSD. Being an anxiety disorder, the victim relives that trauma through nightmares or flashbacks [2]. In turn, PTSD is a serious disorder because of the possibility of it happening.

Think about it: a traumatic event happens to, and around, people every day. So, PTSD can either manifest or become triggered every day.

Pharoahe Monch and PTSD

With this anxiety disorder in full prominence due to the consistent air of war (Iraqi and etc.), crime, and other happenings in the world, Pharoahe Monch recently released his album. This album is aptly titled PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). It is filled with stories of depression, angst, confusion, and eventually “mental freedom”. However, most of the musical ride has a very serious tone. With PTSD, Pharoahe Monch gives you the run down on how someone with this anxiety disorder might function.

Lyrically, the album gives examples of a person’s thought process with PTSD. For example, the track “Time2” actually gets into some serious issues that people with PTSD can possibly face:

Protection orders for my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/Molested Mexican daughters, stretch across the border/The streets paved in gold often fade/When the paint they use to pave the streets is henna/And greener is the grass on the other side/Except for when that other side is geno/Or sewer (sui-cide), you smile while you sippin’ a cup of Kahlua/That makes me wanna mainline a fucking fifth of Dewars. [3]

If you noticed in the lyrics, there is a tone of how things are not what they seem. When the truth comes out, all the people that look at America as the “place of greener pasture” realize that the greenery given off may just be fake. Also, there are plenty of “sides” to choose from: genocide, suicide, and even homicide (pun intended). Much of this makes for many people to want to relieve their stress within a bottle. With just a few bars in a rhyme, Pharoahe Monch releases a lot of information.

Yet, Pharoahe gives even more examples of PTSD and how it affects the world around us. On the track “Losing My Mind”, he notes that he “Saw more war than Warsaw Poland/viewed an infant’s insides/outside of his body/inside of a place of worship, ungodly/out cries tears ‘Dear God, where are we?’[4]” With these lyrics, he takes on what a person has seen either in their mind or has come face-to-face with in times of war. Another arousing use of lyrics comes courtesy of “Broken Again”, where he takes on the thoughts of a drug addict:

On the floor going through withdrawals I was itchin’/she rescued me, my heroine to the en/but then she morphed into heroin in a syringe/around my bicep, I would tie a shoestring/Tap! five times to find a vein in there/squeeze 7cc’s so I could see the seven seas/and CC all my friends so they could see what I was seeing/but what they saw was a despicable human being/so, I guess they just wasn’t seeing what I was seeing [5]

In such short time, Pharoahe Monch gives a lot of examples of how PTSD (and even depression, in some cases) affects people.

Pharoahe Monch and the PTSD Conclusion

In the end, Pharoahe Monch made an album that encompasses the issues and occurrences of having PTSD. What I am afraid will happen is that this album, along with those that have PTSD, will be ignored. This is my rallying cry for those that need to understand. With violence, wars, and consistent every day trauma, this album is important. It is about time we listened and helped those with this anxiety disorder.

No one should keep suffering from PTSD without proper help.

• The Shooting At Fort Hood: A shooting spree occurred at several locations on theFort Hood military base near Killeen, Texas On April 2, 2014. Four people were killed while sixteen additional people were injured. One of those four included the gunman (34-year-old Ivan Lopez, whom died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound). All of this occurred over Lopez trying to retrieve a “leave of absence” form so he could tend to “family matters”. [1] Oh,         and he had been treated for mental issues prior to this incident.

• The School Stabbing of Murrysville, Pennsylvania:  A teenage went on a stabbing rampage at his high school in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, early on April 9^th, 2014. Eventually, Alex Hribal (the student that did the stabbing) was tackled by an assistant principal before it became much worse.  Twenty students and a security officer at Franklin Regional Senior High School were either stabbed or slashed in the attack. [2]

These cases are both horrifying for a few reasons. For one, they dealt with multiple people being either killed or seriously injured. Another issue is the unexpected rampages that were played out. Both males went for trying to take out multiple people. Adding on the obvious loss of feeling secure in an already paranoid world just adds more fuel to the fire of distrust.

The Bigger Mental Health Circumstance

However, there is one mental health situation that actually struck an even bigger chord. Mind you, it was not as heinous and far reaching. Then again, that may be a part of the bigger issue: it is not physically affecting people in a harsh moment. Instead, it is a more insulated situation. It actually deals with a person having inner issues.

And those inner issues erupt into the suicidal situation. The latest victim is Karyn Washington.

Karyn Washington was the popular creator of For Brown Girls. It is a movement to uplift and authorize brown-hued Black women to become greater than their obstacles.

Karyn Washington was also the spearhead behind #DarkSkinRedLipStick, a project tobreak down the barriers that riddle the mentalities of thinking darker skinned women and the negative images associated with them.

Karyn Washington also suffered from depression.

Karyn Washington worked hard to be strong for others, but where was the help when she needed someone to be strong for her.

Karyn Washington was only 22. 22 years old! She had done so much and had yet to witness “a full life”.

Karyn Washington and the Haunting

And this situation haunts me. It haunts me more than the kids/adults being injured inPennsylvania. It also haunts me more than the victims of the horrific Fort Hood madness. As terrible as those situations are, Karyn Washington’s demise haunts me the most.

Why?

Well, it is simple: she gave up herself for the sake of others. Maybe she gave herself to try to save herself. Maybe so much of her work was a pure reflection of the issues that she mentally dealt with. When a person works so hard to help others see their own beauty, you would think they were strong enough to conquer anything. Then again, even Supergirlhad Kryptonite.

In fact, we all have our moments of Kryptonite induced weakness.

The biggest problem that exists is our expectations of people have led to this situation. We want people to be durable enough to handle it all on their own. We teach people to endure, pray, love, eat, pray some more, and look to the heavens. We use examples of others to reassure that we can make it happen with our own mental endurance. In the end, we want people to be strong so others can depend on them.

However, we consistently fail at teaching people how to be WEAK. How often are we teaching people to reach out? How often are we having people to get professional help that goes beyond bent knees, holy water, and scriptures? How often are we finding a way for someone to have a psychoanalysis done? How often are we making sure that the strong realize that their strength does not always come from inside?

Mental Health As Is

Once again, we have failed those that are not mentally healthy. We failed those in Fort Hood. We failed those in Pennsylvania. Even worse, we failed Karyn Washington. Yet, I don’t see this situation getting any better. In fact, there will probably be more of these situations until something is done.

People, it is time to start doing something for those that need extra help. It is time to help others become mentally healthy.

According to North Carolina’s WECT report, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, deputies were called to assist officers with the Boiling Spring Lakes Police Department with an initial response to a home where Keith Vidal, 18, was having a schizophrenic episode. Reports indicate Vidal, who was armed with a very small screwdriver, was tased and subdued on the ground, before being shot by an officer.

The officer who shot Vidal had arrived on the scene only 10 seconds before Vifal was shot. The parents of Vidal allege that the officer officer said, “we don’t have time for this,” and that’s when he, the officer, shot in between the officers holding the teen down, and shot and killed his son. Three different law enforcement agencies were on the scene at the time of the shooting. An investigation is ongoing, as usual; but when will this end is the question.

[…] the first unit on scene was a Boiling Spring Lakes officer who arrived at 12:34 p.m. He was joined shortly after by two additional BSL officers and a Brunswick County Sheriff’s Deputy.

 

The first unit on scene reported a confrontation in the hallway, but told Brunswick County Dispatchers several times that everything was OK.

 

Unit 104 from Southport arrived on the scene at 12:48:41, fourteen minutes after the first officer had already been on scene.

 

Seventy seconds later, Unit 104 radioed out that he had to fire shots at the subject in order to defend himself.

 

The event report mirrors what family members told the media.

 

Wilsey said his family called the police to help with his son Keith Vidal who has schizophrenia  and had a small screwdriver in his hand. Officers used a Taser on Vidal and then shot him, according to Wilsey.

 

Wilsey said officers came into their home after they called for backup help when Vidal was having a schizophrenic incident.

 

Wilsey said officers had his son down on the ground after the teen was tased a few times and an officer said, “we don’t have time for this.” That’s when Wilsey says the officer shot in between the officers holding the teen down, killing his son.

 

“There was no reason to shoot this kid,” Wilsey said. “They killed my son in cold blood. We called for help and they killed my son.”

 

The family said police shot Vidal because he had a screwdriver in his hand. They said it was a tiny screwdriver, though, that would not have hurt anyone.

 

Both parents said they had to watch their son die in front of them. They said Vidal had just turned 18 years old and only weighed about 90 pounds.

 

Vidal’s mother, also at the scene, said she could not understand what happened.

 

“Where is the justice, why did they shoot my son?,” she asked. “This is what’s wrong with our mental health system.”

Watch the video below:

But you get the point, as usual, media outlets continue to be fascinated with the idea of a violent criminal having the opportunity to be within arms length of President Barack Obama. What is tragic, in my opinion, is how little many are empathetic towards the mental health of Thamsanqa Jantjie. Not that anyone reading this may care, but as bad as South Africa’s mental health system is currently, it’s good to see that he’s getting help.

This from Al Jazeera:

The sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s memorial, who said he suffered a schizophrenic episode during the service after being labelled a fraud, has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital, South African media reported.

Thamsanqa Jantjie sparked outrage with his performance at last week’s event, with sign language experts saying his translations of the eulogies, including those by US President Barack Obama and Mandela’s grandchildren, amounted to little more than “flapping his arms around” and “just making funny gestures”.

On Thursday the Star newspaper said Jantjie’s wife Siziwe had taken her husband for a check-up at a psychiatric hospital near Johannesburg on Tuesday, which suggested he be admitted immediately.

“The past few days have been hard. We have been supportive because he might have had a breakdown,” she was quoted as saying.

Jantjie had been scheduled for a check-up at the Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, on December 10.

But the appointment was moved after he was offered the job to sign at the memorial which took place the same day, the newspaper reported.

Jantjie has claimed that he is a qualified signer but that his performance was down to a sudden attack of schizophrenia, for which he takes medication.

“I saw angels falling on the stadium. I heard voices and lost concentration,” he has said.

Local media have since reported that he was part of a mob that burnt two people to death 10 years ago, allegations he has denied, and that he had also faced rape, kidnapping and theft charges.

Mandela’s memorial was attended by nearly 100 sitting and former heads of state or government. The government apologised to the deaf community following the scandal.

In recent media interviews, Jantjie has come across as incoherent.

In his home province of Free State, local media have accused Jantjie of impersonating a lawyer and a traditional healer, though he has not commented on those claims.

Prior to this latest development, a South African deputy minister explained that the company who hired the sign language interpreter has “vanished into thin air.” Thankfully, however, there’s at least one institution available to tend to the needs of Thamsanqa Jantjie and other like him. Because according to Think Progress, when it comes to mental health care in South Africa there’s a lot to be desired.

There is no official mental health policy in South Africa. The country drafted a set of policies in this area in 1997, but they weren’t officially put into practice, and mental health services remain decentralized and underfunded throughout the country’s provinces. Although lawmakers passed a relatively progressive Mental Health Care Act in 2002, it’s not necessarily funded or enforced in the absence of this official policy.

That’s created an environment in which there’s a huge need for this type of medical care that’s largely going unmet. It’s estimated that one in five people in South Africa struggles with mental health issues, but nearly 75 percent of them aren’t getting the treatment they need. Just 15 percent of South Africans can afford private sector health care, but there are big shortages in the public health sector — there are only 18 beds in mental health facilities for every 100,000 people, and just one percent of them are specifically reserved for minors.

Those statistics may even be relatively optimistic, according to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), because many people don’t realize they have mental health issues in the first place. Mental health stigma is yet another stumbling block to connecting South Africans with the treatment they need.

“In Zulu, there is not even a word for ‘depression’ — it’s basically not deemed a real illness in the African culture,” SADAG’s operations director, Cassey Chambers, explained in an interview in October. “As a result, sufferers are afraid of being discriminated against, disowned by their families or even fired from work, should they admit to having a problem. There is still the perception that someone with a mental illness is crazy, dangerous or weak. Because there is often an absence of physical symptoms with mental illness, it is considered ‘not real,’ a figment of the imagination.”

While we may find comic relief at the expense of a mentally ill man, it’s important to note that there are many like him here in the United States in need of care. Unfortunately, for many like him, the only resource for mental health care are the many overcrowded jail cells across the country.

Here in the United States, gaps in the mental health care system — including a dwindling number of available beds in psychiatric hospitals — prevent some people from receiving the treatment they need, sometimes withtragic consequences. States have been slashing funding for these services for years, a dynamic that’s pushed a growing number of mentally ill Americans into the criminal justice system. Nearly half of psychiatrists don’t accept private insurance, and many Americanssimply cannot afford mental health treatment.

Watch the following report:

As pundit distractions, social media commentary, and not-so-funny memes would have it, word on the streets is that the sign language interpreter was actually fake. Yep, the sign language interpreter at probably one of the world’s most historic events in the last century happened to be a mentally ill person with a very violent past. How did this guy get picked to do the job of being an interpreter for the hard of hearing at this even we’ll never know. Though investigating, I don’t expect any government official in South Africa to actually own up to improperly vetting this guy.

The vetting of a sign language interpreter who got within three feet of world leaders including President Barack Obama during Nelson Mandela’s memorial was being investigated Thursday after organizers admitted they were unaware of his violent history of schizophrenic episodes.

Thamsanqa Jantjie, 34, was accused of gesticulating gibberish during Tuesday’s service. Members of the deaf community said his movements did not resemble any recognized form of sign language and some groups accused him of being a “fake.”

Jantjie told NBC News that he is currently receiving treatment for schizophrenia and had been violent in the past. He said he started hearing voices in his head during the Mandela event and hallucinated visions of angels flying into the stadium.

[…] The South African government said at a press conference Thursday that “a mistake was made,” adding that officials were “trying to establish what happened with the sign language interpreter.”

Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, the South African deputy minister for women, children and persons with disability, said that the government was investigating the whether the interpreter had been vetted before the memorial.

“I do not think he was just picked up off the street, he was from a school for the deaf,” Bogopane-Zulu added. “Whoever saw him being able to communicate with his deaf peers, with his deaf friends, understood that he can speak sign language. [But] he could not translate. English was a bit too much for him…he became overwhelmed.”

Jackson Mthembu, a spokesman for the ruling National African Congress party, told NBC News Thursday that he was concerned that Jantjie’s qualifications or medical history had apparently not been taken into account before he was given close access to world leaders at the government-organized event.

“We are not aware that he was being treated for [schizophrenia]. He did not disclose it. That is another thing that is concerning to use because we are having this information for the first time,” Mthembu said. “This man was close to many presidents, including our own. We are worried about when we have procured him for activities for our own services. That is what we are concerned about.” (source)

I could see why something like this would be a serious concern. However, with me being the “glass is half full” type of guy, I can’t help but to look on the bright side of things. The way I see it, with this latest South African embarrassment, there is a sliver lining. Hey, the bright side: Under apartheid in South Africa, no black man would’ve never had the opportunity to even be a fake sign language interpreter. Besides, mo matter what you may say about the guy, fake sign language interpreter or not, at least he makes more sense than Sarah Palin when she speaks on political issues. Hell, and Sarah Palin is considered to be a normal person and not mentally ill like the South African fake sign language interpreter.

Here’s Palin’s latest garbage peddled by Breitbart.com:

No one can argue with the fact that Paul Ryan’s compromise budget bill raises taxes and increases spending. Show me one Republican who got elected on that platform. Spare America the Orwellian word games. If the government is taking money out of your pocket to fund its growing Big Brother operations, it’s a tax. Whether money is taken from you via your phone bill, your airline ticket, or your income, it’s a tax. If politicians can’t be honest about this, it’s time to go home.

The TEA Party’s very acronym stands for “Taxed Enough Already.” We sent these politicians to Congress in an historic landslide election in 2010 with a mandate to stop the runaway spending train bankrupting our nation, not to wave to it from the station or – heaven forbid – increase its speed. And yet, here we are still pretending that there are no real world consequences to running up near trillion dollar deficits year after year with no end in sight.

So, where does this leave us? We can sit back and accept the increased spending “Compromised Plan” with increases in taxes and spending, or we can charge ahead to at least preserve the very modest Sequester cuts American workers already fought for. If we go with the first option, we simply kick the can down the road yet again and wait for the inevitable real world consequences of bankruptcy (see Detroit for an example of what’s in store). Or we can go with the second option and probably get clobbered by the media (so what’s new?!).

The Political Establishment will no doubt tell us that a budget battle will distract us from the fight against Obamacare. But that excuse is just the latest variation in the Establishment’s old canard that they’re keeping their powder dry for the next big battle which never seems to materialize because they’re always too busy waving the white flag and following the path of least resistance until election day.

Enough is enough!

Here’s the truth: The latest budget deal has no new tax increases (read here).

Listen to the full episode below:

You’ll recall, 26-year-old 7-foot-2 Marks was arrested by U. of Chicago cops in July after allegedly punching an officer and trying to grab his gun. Three officers tried to subdue Marks with batons and pepper spray, but he broke free and took off running.

Months before the arrest, Marks released a video for the “Make a Sound Project” — an organization dedicated to helping people struggling with suicidal thoughts — revealing he suffered from bipolar disorder.

As a sufferer of mental illness, I understand just how quick one can go from an aspiring and seemingly happy individual to one distraught by the thoughts of their own mind. Couple that with the lack of healthcare coverage for patients to get help, the social stigma relating to being mentally ill and the pressure of day to day living in country that has all but forgotten us, I can’t say that Josh will be the last victim.

Bi polar disorder makes one feel like they are living in a fun house. Daily living is beginning to feel the same. Where do any of us go from here?

RIP Josh Marks

As odd as it may sound, I can fully imagine Miriam Carey’s state of mind when she acted on what has been reported as “delusion” and postpartum depression.

One thing I can state with certainty, as someone who has battled chronic major depression for 20+ years, is medication interactions and incorrect dosages can lead to erratic behavior and mood swings. Often it’s not until weeks of taking a medication that one realizes the odd changes that in no way mirror their true temperament and personality. Upon hearing a news report that Mirian was prescribed both an antidepressant and another med for schizophrenia it all started to make sense.

I’ve taken nearly every medication created to alleviate depressive symptoms, I know how frustrating and seemingly hopeless the process of finding one that “works” with your body chemistry can be. Irrational thoughts, heart palpatations and manic behavior are some of the side effects experienced when seeking relief through medication. Often, just when a medication appears to be effective, one can experience an extreme descent back to a flat-lined furrow.

Many who deal with depression are skillful actors, masking disinterest, a severe lack of energy and an inner emotional rollercoaster. It’s not an exaggeration to say most days are spent dealing with depression in silence. When we keep this condition to ourselves, the changes tend to be seen as an attitude problem, introversion and a myriad of other polished descriptions that are often way off base. The truth is that we desire to wake up with a positive outlook, make the day work in our favor and enjoy the fruits of life….feel what we consider “normal”. Yet, when you’re in a barren valley void of understanding and support, weeks and months may pass before those around you muster up the interest and/or concern to ask how you’re feeling. That’s not to place the blame on others, but to say we have to do a better job at recognizing mood changes, not having a “get over it” reaction and being unafraid to lend a helping hand.

The magnitude of health disparities prevalent among Blacks is overwhelming. Millions of dollars fund research and statistics, yet the core issues remain, we’re over-medicated and under-educated in this area. Thankfully I’ve been able to maneuver the health system maze because of my background (20+ years in the field), but I fully realize there are countless others suffering due to the stigma of 1) acknowledging the need for help and 2) the mere presence of a mental health issue.

I’m sincerely thankful her precious daughter was unharmed and police officers were not mortally wounded, but can’t help but wonder how we failed her. We who, you may ask? We, as a community and nation, have to work towards eliminating the stigma through education amd general openness, remove barriers to accessing mental health services and care enough to reach out when we witness obvious signs of distress.

Will this tragedy be seen as an illogical act or what seems closely akin to suicide? When will we stop judging based on actions and address the core issue of why so many suffer without appropriate clinical treatment and counseling? Something tells me this won’t happen in my lifetime, but I’m determined to take action.

May Miriam’s soul find the peace it could not in the past couple of years.