May our brothers and sisters who are still suffering get the love and care they need…

There are many of us with mental Illness, deep emotional wounds, or addiction who suffer unnecessarily because we have tried reaching out and have been rejected or rebuked.

I will never forget the soul-crushing feeling that I experienced the day I first worked up the courage to ask for help. I was an active Alcoholic and called our community, county-funded outpatient mental health care clinic. The lady on the other end of the phone told me I had to be sober before they could help me and hung up on me. Sheer devastation and hopelessness.

Over the course of my 25 year (and still counting) journey of recovery, I encountered many other obstacles and rejections, given our ignorant, stigma-ridden society and our severely broken mental health care system. As I am sure many of you have.

If God hadn’t gifted me with a good brain, education, persistence, resilience, and grace, this person with Bipolar Disorder and addictions would have been institutionalized, homeless, or dead long ago.

May our brothers and sisters who are still suffering get the love and care they need…