A bit on Mental Illness,

Ok people... "Houston may be a long walk from where you live", but... there are other Nami Walks available in other cities. There are other avenues, you could; join a walk in your own city/state, sponsor me, donate in your own city/state or bring awareness to the cause in various other ways... Grading the States 2006: Take Action

Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.

Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and borderline personality disorder. The good news about mental illness is that recovery is possible.

Mental Illness Facts

With all the latest shooting; Virginia Tech, NASA Johnson Space Center and the Houston Resident, *(these are only the most recent ones, we have so many more that we can list...) the one thing all these shooters had in common; Mental Illness. Some people stand a chance to be reached, some don't, but we should at least try to help those that can be helped. If someone is at risk to injure themselves, they are possibly at risk to injure and hurt others as well.

I work at an in-patient mental health facility, The Menninger Clinic and I have come to see Mental Illness in a new light. I have a new understanding or a new outlook when I see that one homeless woman or man that sits there talking to himself, or when I see that teenager, dressed all in black, being "a loner". Or even when I see that single mother of five, that has been through an abusive marriage and the children act out the only thing they have known for the last 17 years, cussing at their mother, yelling obscenities to her and the mother being so depressed to a point of "looking for a way out". It hits me hard, this is just one way for me to reach out and help. I don't sit on the side of the table where I can counsel or assist a patient here at the clinic, but if, me walking a mere 3 miles, to raise money, to bring awareness can be a small drop in the bucket... then this is just my small contribution to what I hope will be a start to many more contributions on my behalf.

I am proud to add that my 22 year old son called me yesterday and he has requested the day off to join me in my walk to help bring awareness to this illness. He wants to make a difference, all of these recent tragedies has made him think seriously about his own life and those of his friends.

Without treatment the consequences of mental illness for the individual and society are staggering: unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide and wasted lives; The economic cost of untreated mental illness is more than 100 billion dollars each year in the United States.

We Remember

Ross Abdallah Alameddine
Christopher James Bishop
Brian Roy Bluhm
Ryan Christopher Clark
Austin Michelle Cloyd
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Kevin P. Granata
Matthew Gregory Gwaltney
Caitlin Millar Hammaren
Jeremy Michael Herbstritt
Rachael Elizabeth Hill
Emily Jane Hilscher
Jarrett Lee Lane
Matthew Joseph La Porte
Henry J. Lee
Liviu Librescu
G.V. Loganathan
Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan
Lauren Ashley McCain
Daniel Patrick O'Neil
Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz
Minal Hiralal Panchal
Daniel Alejandro Perez
Erin Nicole Peterson
Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.
Julia Kathleen Pryde
Mary Karen Read
Reema Joseph Samaha
Waleed Mohamed Shaalan
Leslie Geraldine Sherman
Maxine Shelly Turner
Nicole White

*More details about victims

David Beverly - NASA Communications Supervisor

Laura Schoellmann - Houston Apartment Manager

In no way do I mean to leave out anyone that is dear to someone that might have lost their life/lives due to some deranged or troubled individual, but listing all those lives lost as in 9/11 would take an immense blogging endeavor.

My immense love and respect and prayers to all who have lost their lives, and their families, due to mental illness.