Caring in our community
STORY BY, JENNIFER SHELDON
Tell someone you have a terminal illness, and you'll get a casserole, tell them you have a mental illness, and they'll lose your number. It's difficult to talk about mental illness when there is a social stigma attached to such a disease, and yet according to Cathy Gaudet, RN and organizer of the 3rdCommunity Wellness Event held at City Hall, 1 out of 4 families are affected.
Although there was an emphasis to speak out to others and to understand the many facets of mental illness, it was also about understanding that there are options. "Most cases of mental illness become apparent before the age of 14," says Ms. Gaudet, "but only 20% of those diagnosed will seek treatment."
There were many speakers educating the crowd about the embarrassment someone could have with such a disease. Speaking on behalf of the Shine Initiative was the Wallace family. "Michael is the perfect face for mental illness," says his sister Kim Pehi, "he was handsome, smart, popular, the star football player and president of his class. He lived a charmed life and was planning to go to Harvard. And yet by his senior year, he wanted to commit suicide. It didn't make sense."
"The first question was why," says his mother Angela Wallace, "he was embarrassed and didn't want anyone to know." Michael tried receiving help, but has been missing since 2003. "There wasn't the support there is now." The family has devoted their time to educating the public about the many faces of mental illness and that there is nothing to be ashamed of.
Other speakers were Vicente Sanabria from LUK (Let us know) and Dr. Nawras Shukair from UMass Medical School discussing the increased risk of drug and alcohol use in mentally ill patients. Officer Michael Marrone from the Leominster Police Department was discussing the Junior Police Academy. In groups of about 25, students in 6-8 grade can participate for free in team building exercises, complete with a graduation and barbeque. "I had a sense of belonging when I graduated Air Force Academy," said Officer Marrone, "we needed to replicate that feeling to these children. They needed to be part of a team."
But the ones that made the most impact on the crowd were the young adults that banded together after Sandy Hook last December. This group of high school students began a group called LEAD (Let's Empower, Advocate, and Do!) and they live up to their name. Last year, they held a fundraiser called the "26 Angels", raising money to donate to the Shine Initiative, to purchase 10 weighted lap pads to be donated to the school nurse offices to aid in comfort and support, and last they donated to the
Children's Defense Fund "protecting children, not guns". In the near future, they will be testifying at gun violence hearings at the State House in Worcester and Boston, and they plan a candlelight vigil at City Hall on December 21st
It can be difficult to deal with a mental illness, whether - Dr. Suess you are the patient, or the family. There are no miracle cures, and only recently have we as a community began speaking openly about it. We may have come far from where we were, but it is clear there is still a long road ahead.
In the words of the great doctor, Dr.
Seuss, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."