Shining the Most Brilliant Light

Photo Credit: Rahul Pandit from Pexels

“We need more people to go public with this humanitarian crisis of not treating people with serious brain illnesses and not paying for them to be housed in the best level of care where they can be the healthiest and most stable. We need to care. We need to act, no matter how terrifying it might be to bring this information forward.”

These inspiring words of tireless activist Leslie Carpenter from a recent Facebook post remind us all how important this battle is for those who are suffering and the family members who care for them.

Help is on the way. National Shattering Silence Coalition is gearing up at this very moment to shine the most brilliant light on this humanitarian crisis you have ever seen. With the help of Accelerating Social Good and mental health activist/consultant Kerry Martin, NSSC is poised to harness the power of our collective voices. It’s time to finally Shatter the Silence and bring hope, compassion, and treatment to those who have been abandoned for so long. Stay tuned…

Leslie’s original post:
​
Sometimes in the life of being a very public serious brain illness advocate, I have people reach out to me for suggestions for loved ones, resources, etc. I try to respond to all of them and at least make an effort to reach them, give them all of my contact information, and let them get back into contact with me. Not all do, but when they do, I try to listen with a caring heart and share information that might be helpful.

Recently, I was asked to meet with someone who has worked within the system who wanted to share information with me of several cases and system failures they felt I needed to know since I work at the local, state and federal level to improve mental health care.

I just left that 2.5 hour meeting feeling filled up with the poison of knowledge of so many cases with adverse outcomes, due to not just gaps in the system, but active choices of key people in the system.  

I have known there were problems, gaps, and challenges. I now know some of the people who specifically have caused harm, and my soul is feeling overwhelmed with sadness and disappointment.  

I need to move forward with solving some of this mess, and I will. But for now, I am sitting in a random parking lot crying and processing and figuring out the best next steps.

For now, let me say this:

We need more people to go public with this humanitarian crisis of not treating people with serious brain illnesses and not paying for them to be housed in the best level of care where they can be the healthiest and most stable.

We need to care. We need to act, no matter how terrifying it might be to bring this information forward. #WeCanDoSoMuchBetterThanThis

#CostOfNotCaring #ShatteringSilence4SBD #Not1MoreTragedy 

Please join NSSC today.