"Just a Thought" in La Prensa Texas on Mental Health, 7-14

Mental Minority Health Month

By Steve Walker

Vietnam Veteran and former Justice of the Peace and Journalist

Did you know that one in five people will experience mental illness this year? Mental health conditions do not discriminate based on race, color, gender or identity.

Anyone can experience the challenges of mental illness regardless of their background. However it is more difficult to get help for minorities which is why the National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 2008, to hopefully turn it around.

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition whether it is their own or a loved one. Those challenges of mental health conditions are huge. Along with health coverage, and the stigma of mental illness, mandates us and those around us to be aware. In many communities, these problems create a cultural stigma, and are increased by less access to quality care.

An organization called NAMI, National Alliance of Mental Illness, is

the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

What started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 has blossomed into the nation's leading voice on mental health. Today, the association of more than 500 local affiliates who work in the community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need.

Some years ago my wife Linda ran a house on  Aganier Street aptly named the Aganier House for homeless indigents in San Antonio, who suffered from various forms of mental illness. The vast majority of those affected by mental illness living   at the home, were Hispanics, African Americans and an assortment of other minority groups. I visited Linda at the home numerous times and engaged in conversations with many of the residents.

I would point out that the NAMI Affiliates, host education programs for thousands of families, individuals and educators get the support and information they need. As a retired special education teacher as well as my wife, I discovered many of those at the home were intelligent, skilled in many ways despite their mental illness. The education programs are also available in Spanish, Bases y Fundamentos de NAMI.

Yet another group of those who show signs of undiagnosed mental illness that many don’t think about are residents of the Bexar County Detention Center who have had a run in with the law and now incarcerated for assaults and worse.

Having spent nine months teaching G.E.D. in the Bexar County Detention facility, I can assure you there are many inmates who have a severe case of mental instability, many of whom are dangerous and harm to themselves and others. It is estimated that over 40 percent of the inmates are considered mentally challenged. When you look at the overwhelming statistics of people incarcerated in prison, mental health clinics, and in the community, it is a problem that needs to be addressed. Then there is PTSD, war and on and on.

As always, what I write is “Just a Thought.”