By BILL CARRUTHERS and DAN GILLISON
A #mentalhealthcrisis can be a frightening thing to the individual experiencing it as well as to people witnessing it. Those in its throes need help, but all too often get handcuffs.
We have seen that scenario play out from the inside and the outside. It’s time for it to change.
#JamesDonaldson notes:
Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
Bill’s story
At age 35, I was locked up in a holding cell in a county jail in Georgia. My crime? Experiencing severe symptoms of psychosis. It wasn’t the first time I had been jailed for this, nor would it be the last. But it was one of the worst.
My symptoms had led me to believe that the other 15 people in the cell were conspiring to kill me, and fear had taken over. My behavior became erratic, but no one recognized that it was the symptoms of my psychosis that was causing me to act this way. I was tased and beaten unconscious. When I woke up, I found myself restrained to a chair: my arms and legs were strapped down and my head pulled back and immobilized. Eventually I was sent to “the hole” for solitary confinement.
After weathering the storm — and due process finally returned — I got out of jail alive. Not everyone does: Natasha McKenna, a Black woman with psychosis, died after being tased in a Virginia jail.
Today, I am in recovery, but I consider that a miracle after 40 years in and out of the justice system. I finally got the help I needed, including supportive housing, outpatient treatment, peer support from the #NationalAllianceonMentalIllness (#NAMI), and folks to hold me accountable.
Dan’s story
As the CEO of #NAMI, I hear stories like Bill’s almost every day. What he and others have gone through — what many are still going through — is unconscionable.
Following #GeorgeFloyd’s killing by #policeofficers in Minneapolis, the outcry from communities of color and white people alike has created an inflection and reflection point for our country. #BlackLivesMatter and others are forcing a conversation about the role of law enforcement in our communities.
For decades, stigmatization, prejudice, and discrimination against those with #mentalhealthconditions, especially #BlackAmericans, have taken a huge toll on countless lives. That didn’t happen by itself: As a society, we’ve allowed it to happen. Our neglected #mentalhealth “system” provides too little help too late. Law enforcement officers are often the #firstresponders to #mentalhealthemergencies. And we’ve defunded programs like the one that helped Bill. To save lives, and to live up to our values of fairness, inclusion, and compassion, we need change.
In the face of #Covid-19, the U.S. needs to change how it deals with #mentalillness
A four-point focus for #mentalhealth crises
Calls for racial justice, the #Covid-19 #pandemic, and the ensuing economic crisis have emphasized a painful awareness about what happens to the most vulnerable in our society. To change outcomes, we need to disrupt the system that puts police at the forefront of crisis response. To do this, #NAMI believes that policymakers need to focus on four areas of community #mentalhealth: crisis care, inpatient care, social support and outpatient care. Bill’s “miracle” outcome could be the hope for everyone with #mentalillness if we commit to these policy changes.
Crisis care. Our country needs a compassionate and evidence-based response to #mentalhealthcrises. Establishing 9-8-8 as a nationwide hotline for helping people having #mentalhealthcrises and preventing #suicide, something the Federal Communications Commission is moving forward with, would give people a dedicated, easy-to-remember number to get help. We also need a range of culturally competent crisis services for people in need, including mobile crisis teams and crisis stabilization programs. And anyone who provides care for people with severe #mentalhealthsymptoms, including law enforcement officials, should be offered training in effective de-escalation and engagement strategies.
Inpatient care. In the U.S. today, individuals with the most severe symptoms of #mentalillness typically can’t get inpatient care unless they are deemed a danger to themselves or others. That makes no sense. It’s like a hospital telling someone experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of a heart attack to come back later when your heart stops. That doesn’t happen: the symptoms are seen as serious signs and treated to prevent them from recurring and becoming worse.
The symptoms of severe #mentalillness — such as mania, delusions, and #paranoia — should be treated just as seriously. Instead, people with severe #mentalhealthconditions are routinely turned away from hospitals, or discharged home or to the streets before they have been truly stabilized.
Social support. Ensuring individuals have access to necessities like a safe place to live, food to eat, a source of income, and a supportive community are essential for getting them on paths to recovery. Unfortunately, most communities have not invested in this, contributing to the fact that approximately 20% to 25% of people experiencing homelessness have a #mentalillness, and are also disproportionately people of color.
Outpatient care. People with #mentalhealthconditions should be able to get the best possible care early. Yet 60% of the counties in our country don’t have a single practicing psychiatrist, let alone professionals who represent the diversity of our nation’s people or who have training in the most effective interventions. We cannot accept the status quo. We need a trauma-informed #mentalhealth workforce — one that is racial-trauma-informed — that is equipped to serve everyone, especially the most underserved, with #mentalhealthcare when and where they need it.
‘We don’t actually have that answer yet’: WHO clarifies comments on asymptomatic spread of #Covid-19
Acknowledging the role law enforcement still plays
As we work toward a system that provides a proper #mentalhealth response to people experiencing #mentalhealthcrises, we cannot ignore the role that law enforcement still plays in this area: they are often the #firstresponders. According to the Washington Post, 194 people with a #mentalillness were shot and killed by #policeofficers in 2019.
To prevent such needless deaths, #NAMI has been promoting programs like crisis intervention teams for the last 30 years. This is a police-based model designed to improve the safety of the public and officers and to help people with #mentalillness get treatment instead ending up in jail. We have also advocated to change agencies’ policies and procedures so they divert people with #mentalillness away from involvement in the criminal justice system.
Officers trained in crisis intervention can be lifesavers, but it’s important to keep in mind that they are a reaction to a fundamental flaw in how we respond to #mentalhealthcrises. They are not the answer to safely resolving them. Investment in a comprehensive #mentalhealthcare system that demonstrates cultural competence and equitable treatment is the answer.
Our country needs to do a lot of learning and painful growing that includes a real conversation — and a real intentional change process — around policing and #mentalhealth, including the disproportionate effects on communities of color. People affected by #mentalhealthconditions know all too well what it means to experience #stigma, but not all of us know the doubling role race can play. Our communities have a lot of work to do to engage in the real dialogue needed to collaborate on real solutions. Only then can we work together to make lasting change.
Bill Carruthers is the project developer for the Rockdale County Stepping Up Initiative, the CEO of Recovery on Fire, and a former board member of #NAMI Georgia. Dan Gillison is the CEO of the #NationalAllianceonMentalIllness.
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
