re: #127 Gus

Am I the only one who feels like maybe a lack of community is part of the problem? If you are perceived as being odd or different you are at a disadvantage if you do not have plenty of support in the form of family, friends, and the community in general. The last thing people with mental health issues need is to be more isolated than they already are. I can’t help but think that in SOME cases at least, a watchful and caring community could and would spot issues in the early stages and not wait til someone becomes so ill they would hurt themselves or others.

When we talk about increasing access to mental health services(and to that I would add the words COMPETENT and APPROPRIATE for the person) I think we also need to address the isolation that the mentally ill and their families face. Our system is slow and inadequate in many if not most cases. I think having strong and functional communities that are not immediately frightened or ashamed of mental illness is going to be a key part of things if we decide to move forward on this issue.