This is a subject I take to heart and I try to understand it better more and more each day. I think personally stigma is something very detrimental to society. If we think that it’s going to go away just like that we are seriously mistaken. The lack of education and insight keeps people more and more 

paralyzed because the information sometimes seems foreign, this is just my belief. As a consumer myself, I have since I was diagnosed with mental illness some time back in the early 90’s, would try hard to educate myself about mental illness as a brain disease. I tried to be open about learning about my own sickness, how to take my medication, to going see my doctor’s and staying physically as well as mentally stable the best I knew how by readying about the subject repeatedly.  I believe strongly in advocacy of mental illness as a brain disorder. I think and feel this is the major issues we do not see mental illness as a brain disorder or (disease). Like cancer or diabetes and aids it can be chronic or a long-term illness. We tend to as a society to put mental illness as a secondary subject to talk about and discuss more than we should. I feel we are afraid to mention the subject and would rather swipe it under the rug than to face the facts and truth about mental illness is a brain disease. As a consumer I believe we need more support for this illness called (mental illness). When it comes to this sickness I see a lot of homeless persons with such needs not to be bullied and made fun of. Talked negative about and mistreated as left overs. I also believe if a fact that some people with mental illness tend to be homeless. They are frowned upon and looked down on because they may not look like other people who don’t have these mental issues. We will remain stagnated until we except the truth about real life issues on mental illness and the homeless everywhere. I was thinking that it would be a good idea to set up mobile medical trucks to go into the community and persons volunteer to get evaluations for depression and PTSD disorders. I personally feel this would be a great access to mental illness and self -help care and education concerning the homeless and the mentally ill. I also think that the homeless shelters could do more and the local churches. We must go with reality and the truth at all cost. I and so many people need a hand up, more resources that could help us all more today. Some homeless people as well as non-homeless persons get afraid because they do not know what they are feeling inside at the time. They may not know they are bipolar or schizophrenic or both. They can’t diagnose themselves. We need to know we are not alone in this journey and it does take a community to work and care for the other person sometimes.  We are all humans needing guidance for seeking out the truth we as people with mental illness deserve more  respect.

Thank you