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Mental Illness and Your Town: 37 Ways for Communities to Help and Heal (New Horizons in Therapy Series)

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May is Mental Health month, and what better way to observe it than to get people in your community involved by providing them with a better understanding of mental illness.

"Mental Illness and Your Town" is the perfect solution to communicating the message of mental illness and how communities can work together to improve the situation for everyone involved. It is an idea book--37 ideas for helping communities understand mental illness and provide better services for those with mental illness. Some of the ideas may seem like common sense, but author Larry Hayes, long time advocate for those with mental illness, points out the lack of coordination, understanding, and responsiveness within communities for those who suffer with a mental illness. This book is for the family members, those with mental illness themselves, the community, social workers, lawyers, police, doctors, nurses and anyone who may come in contact with or help someone who has a mental illness. That means you! It means everyone. As Hayes explains, one in ten people during their lifetimes will suffer from mental illness. If it's not you, it will be a loved one. We can all benefit by learning as much about mental illness as possible and being advocates for those with mental illness.

Integral to educating people about mental illness is dispelling myths. Hayes points out that mothers do not cause mental illness, although their depression may affect a child's development of it. However, it is just as likely a mother can prevent mental illness in her child. Hayes states, "Nurture mental wellness in a new mother and she then can nurture it in the child. Mom isn't the culprit. She can be a child's best therapist." Another myth to dispel is that those with mental illness cannot function in society. In fact, many can hold down jobs and those who work at least part-time feel better about themselves, appreciating the chance to feel self-reliant. If holding down a job is too difficult or frightening for someone with mental illness, the person can volunteer his services, thus still achieving self-esteem without as much pressure.

Anyone interested in mental illness needs to read "Mental Illness and Your Town." I cannot do justice in this space to all the ideas Hayes presents--some may work for all communities, some for just certain communities, but they are a rich number of solutions to the absent or insufficient help for those with mental illness that many communities provide. Hayes describes the shortcomings of many current suicide prevention hotlines and how a community can create its own successfully. He provides advice for parents on estate planning so their adult child with mental illness will be provided for after their death. Hayes advocates and explains how to recruit those with the power to recruit others, from journalists to lawyers, politicians, to judges, and the police. He provides details on creating conferences for the police, doctors and nurses about how to interact with those who suffer from mental illness. Awareness is key to understanding mental illness; Hayes provides numerous means to raise awareness from creating brochures and mental health directories to larger projects like setting up a Depression Center or a clubhouse for people who suffer from mental illness to go to be themselves and gain self-esteem.

Author Larry Hayes knows what he speaks about. He is honest from the first page, speaking without shame about his own bouts with depression and his son's mental illness. Hayes was once hospitalized for six weeks for depression and he has undergone twelve shock treatments. His son has been suicidal, but with love, understanding and help from his family and community, he has functioned in society. Hayes is himself an award-winning columnist who wrote editorials in Fort Wayne's Journal Gazette for over a quarter century to provide education to people about mental illness. He has been involved in numerous groups, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). He was fundamental in forming the Carriage House, a highly acclaimed rehabilitation center, in creating the Suicide Prevention Council, and in starting a countywide Mental Health Coordinating Council. He also successfully lobbied Indiana University Purdue University, Fort Wayne to create the Institute for Behavior Studies.

"Mental Illness and Your Town" concludes with a final chapter that offers guides to inventing a new system to deal with mental illness and provide treatment and resources for those who suffer from mental illness. An annotated list of resources, both books and websites, concludes the book.

Readers who know nothing about mental illness will come away feeling not only more informed, but thoughtful about the people they have known with mental illness, and they will want to learn more about this often misunderstood illness that affects everyone directly or indirectly. Those already involved in helping people with mental illness will find fresh, well-thought out ideas to further their efforts, and finally, those who suffer from mental illness will find reassurance that people do care and want to understand, and that the lines of communication have been opened wider because Larry Hayes wrote "Mental Illness and Your Town."

[...]
-- Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D., author of The Marquette Trilogy

Mental Illness and Your Town: 37 Ways for Communities to Help and Heal.

This easy-to-read book has been written as a blueprint for community action from award-winning journalist, Larry Hayes.

In this book you wil learn how each person can play a role to help those who suffer; you will hear stories of people who overcame their disabilities; discover how each of us can work together to create a "treatment revolution" that will help to save lives and it will open your heart and your mind in order to work towards a positive community goal.

There are six sections in the book with up to seven chapters to each section. Each section is backed by data, references, first-hand accounts as well as, ideas and solutions.

The Faces: This section describes the different type of people who may suffer from mental health, the problem areas and how to help reduce the numbers.

The Helpers: This section describes the different ways in which people can help. How one can gather the information they need to meet the community and in which ways it can be shared.

The Personal: This includes concepts to begin discussing the subject of mental health, how you can empower someone with a mental stigma and the pertinent information of each person's disclosure.

The Recruiters: How you can reach out to the community for help, for guidance and to share information. It encourages you not to be shy in your approach, enlist anyone who has the heart to listen and utilize your community events to help bring recognition to mental health issues.

The Innovations: Discusses ways in which you can launch new programs in your community.

The Reforms: There are programs already in place but some of them need some "tuning" in order to work with the individual within the community. With proper training and information, each person who reaches out for the attention they require, will have the proper response if everyone is on the same page.

You will also find reference books you can enlist in your research as well as internet resources.

I found this book to have some great merits about it, however, I didn't glean any information from it that would push me to go out and incorporate what I learned. It seemed that just as an idea was being formed, the author pushed off to another topic, leaving me wanting. I thought it was very easy-to-read and written with out pretense, talking to you and not at you as most of these self-help books do.

I liked the relaxed way in which the ideas are shared as well, some of the approaches suggested were easy to understand, written clearly and concisely. There were a few instances in which it seemed like the author was basing his information on one community only, as in the chapter about "observing celebrations", it is mentioned that you would not find a float in a parade concerning mental health and I have to disagree with that statement. My community is always involved with mental health awareness, we have 90% of the ideas shared within this book and still, it is quite a concern. My underlying thoughts believe it has to do with management and the lack thereof. I believe the chapter on The Reforms was the best chapter in the book and I would have liked to have seen more ideas given.

I was recently given the opportunity to read a book by Larry Hays, "Mental Illness and Your Town." He talks about how to make your own community supportive and knowledgeable about mental illness and how to handle it and those who suffer from it - to not only the afflicted, but their families and friends as well.

Larry has had many close encounters with mental illness in his lifetime. He talks about his own struggle with depression, that of his first wife and a lifelong struggle his son has endured. Because of his experiences and his passionate drive to help his son, Larry became an advocate for families who are touched by mental illness. He has helped with committees and developed plans for his community and others that needed an expert. He lists, in regular everyday vocabulary, how to get involved in your community and how to start the initiative towards awareness and support for the Mentally Ill.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who may be struggling with mental illness and wants to be sure that resources and support are available to them and those that they love.

I hate labels. Labeling people stereotypes them into a box that is nearly impossible to get out of. At the same time, a label is often necessary so that someone with mental illness can get the help they need. This book by Larry Hayes called "Mental Illness and Your Town" is a really great tool to use to motivate communities to help and/or heal those who are suffering from things as simple as post-partum depression to things as complex as bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. There is mental illness within my own family and I've personally faced many of the stigmas that this book details. I found many ideas that people can easily use to make a huge difference in their community.

How's your mental health? Many people tend to brush aside their symptoms and ignore them for a long time. In order to be the best wife, parent, and friend that you can be, your own mental health needs to be in a good place. Did you know there are services that are free of charge and on a sliding-fee scale to help families address things like depression, anxiety, and fears? Sometimes all it takes is a single phone call to help a person begin to heal.

I found some online quizzes you can use to help you get a clearer picture of your own mental health. If any of your answers concern you, please reach out to someone for help. If nothing else, let your doctor know if you find you're feeling out of sorts and ask his advice for resources. There is no shame in wanting to be a better, happier, healthier person! Mental Health Assessments offers nine different quizzes [..]

I highly recommend reading "Mental Illness and Your Town" by Larry Hayes! If you want to make a difference, this book offers an excellent blueprint to helping those right there where you live. There are lots of personal stories in the book that really hit home. Thanks to the author!

Larry Hayes has written a straight forward and succinct book on how communities can support, promote healing, and ultimately help people who have struggled with mental illness. Mental Illness and Your Town is a "How to Guide" for developing community based supports and services ranging from Suicide Hotlines to Club Houses and job opportunities. It is a great educational resource for community activists and concerned citizens who believe that the success of a community can be measured by how it treats those who are less fortunate (anonymous quotation). Not only can these recommendations potentially save lives, but it increases the likelihood that people who struggle with mental health issues can contribute back as active members of their community. As an author and outreach clinician who has worked with people experiencing homelessness and major mental illnesses, I highly recommend this book.

Jay S. Levy, LICSW
Author of Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways
Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing
[...]

Mental illness is a contentious topic mired in prejudice, superstition, and ignorance. Stigmatized, patients and their families retreat into a fortress of denial and shame. Communities, small and large, and even the medical profession, turn a blind, embarrassed eye and pretend to go on about their business with equanimity.

Unlike the overwhelming majority of tomes concerned with this issue, "Mental Illness and Your Town" is not verbose or condescending. It is a "how-to" manual for would-be activists and it provides hundreds of tips and reams of advice on communal coping with mental illness. In terms of "talent, time, and treasure", this slender guide provides detailed, down-to-earth, action plans tailored to specific audiences: individual volunteers; the Church; the media; hospitals; and many more.

What can one do about mental illness? A lot, it turns out; open a suicide hot line; administer self-tests; distribute cell phones; organize outings; open clubhouses and depression centers; and much more besides. By confining itself to the practical and eminently doable, the book counters our feelings of helplessness and resignation in the face of these "cancers of the mind".

My only mild criticism is that the author, probably owing to personal experience, tends to concentrate on mood-disorders (and, particularly depression). Yet, there are hundreds of other mental health dysfunctions out there. This vade mecum will serve them equally well. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited".

This book is a collection of suggestions for community actvism to aid the mentally ill. Working from the position that mental illness is a community issue, Hayes has come up with a variety of potential ways in which communities can be of assistance. Hayes brings both personal and professional qualifications to the book: he is a journalist who has covered mental health issues, and he's a trained minister. Personally, both Hayes and his son have suffered from mental illness. Without question there are helpful suggestions in this book that cover a wide range of approaches and solutions. That said, it is also important to recognize the limitations of this book too. Most of the sugestions in this book seem to deal with moderate to severe mental illness- the sort that might leave the sufferer hospitalized. A focus on serious mental illness is certainly fine, but when Hayes talks about the scope of mental health prblem, he seems to be talking more broadly about all levels of mental illness. Thus, what Hayes sees is a crisis, but those statistics seem to be based on the broad range of mental illnesses, not merely those who suffer from the most severe forms of the disease. So, it seems that there's something of a disconnect here that's not clearly established in the text. I never felt as if I got a good handle on the scope of the problem. For example, Hayes focuses on programs that can help mentally ill persons get into the workforce. There's no mention of the numerous individuals suffering from mild mental illness who still manage to go to work everyday, but find it difficult so to do. Again, it's fine to focus on solutions for those individuals whose illnesses fall on the severe end of hte spectrum, but these are not the only people who make up the staggering numbers of people who suffer from mental illness. I'd suspect they're likely not the majority. The second issue I took with this book is that Hayes seems to hav little sense that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of very good causes, charities that help people and make their lives better, all of which are competing for limited resources. I got little sense in reading this book that Hayes really recognized the limits of time and funding. This is an issue of tone. Throughout the book Hayes seems to be suggesting that mental illness should be the most important issue, but it's unrealistic to expect this to be the only charitable/social cause about which individuals, charities, and municipalities care. I detected what seemed almost to be an undertone of chastisement in the book, suggesting the folly or callousness of those for whom mental health isn't THE single most important social/community issue. In conclusion, I'd like this book to be clearer about what it is and where it is focused. I was also turned off by the tone- there's a fine line between passion and didacticism, and at certain points Hayes seems to cross it.