From the UK with love, humor and no stigma.

Rachel Nwokoro is British, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants and a significant poet and performance artist in the vibrant London arts scene. She is also a mental health advocate.

Two years ago, her best friend took her own life in the midst of a psychotic disturbance. It was a terrible existential crisis for Rachel. Today, she's transformed her sadness into advocacy. Her mental health video BLOG called #InTheEgg is informative, sad, humorous and redemptive all in the same breath. 

The subject for her latest BLOG is STIGMA.  Enjoy and thank you Rachel for your advocacy.   

Remembering Robin Williams, Preventing Suicide.

It has been a year since we lost Robin Williams to suicide. He was one of the greatest comedic talents of our modern age–from Good Morning Vietnam to Good Will Hunting to The Birdcage–he made us chuckle, snicker and sometimes cry. So many us feel like we knew Robin Williams. He just had that rare charisma and gentleness.

Still, he was an intensely personal and insular man. To honor his memory and bring greater awareness to Severe Depression, the illness from which I suffer, we dug up a nine-year old National Public Radio interview with Robin Williams. 

The interview is funny, frantic and fantastic!  However, I can feel the pain of Severe Depression in his tone and cadence. At thirty minutes into the interview, he discusses mental illness. I will leave up to your interpretation as to what you think of his answer to questions about mental illness. However, it's clear to me, Robin Williams suffered with Severe Depression for a long, long time.

In honor of the great Robin Williams, please post the logo of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on your FB page and other social media. 

Remember suicide is 100% preventable.

Mental Health Justice. No Stigma. No Judgment. Everyone is welcome.

Dolores 

The LAPD: Getting It Right. We Need to Give The Mentally Ill Treatment, Not Jail Time.

I want to introduce you to Lt. Lionel Garcia. He was the lead officer of the the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD), Mental Evaluation Unit for seven years until he retired this last April. The unit's officers are trained by LA County Mental Health Care experts the proper intervention tactics for cases involving mental health issues.

Most often those suffering from mental health disorders will call and ask police to intervene in a situation.  And very often, that call for help results in a collision of law enforcement and the mentally ill that has been historically unfavorable, if not tragic. But with the right training, Lt. Garcia's former unit has been able keep incident arrests to 8.5%. That's remarkable and deserves our attention and praise! 

Please listen to the NPR segment on the unit and read the article. As law enforcement, across the nation (often justifiably),  receives scrutiny for their intervention tactics–it's nice to highlight a department that's getting it right.