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Judge vindicates Broughton Hospital - Morganton News-Herald
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Congressman Seeks Probe Into School 'Quiet Rooms'
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A Mom's Heartbreaking Choice
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Cansler: Solutions must include all
 I
had already asked Jim Pitts, NAMI NC president, if he would introduce
me to Lanier Cansler if I hadn't already done so myself when the two
were part of a mental health panel March 14 in Asheville.
Sponsored
by the League of Women Voters, the panel included Sen. Martin Nesbitt
and Ross Dillingham from the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department.
It
was a cold, rainy day and as I waited for a left turn that took
forever, I caught a glimpse of a black jeep behind me and idly wondered
if it was someone else attending the forum. As I parked and got out,
the Jeep passed by and catching a glimpse of the driver, knew that he
was indeed heading to the same place as I. The car circled and parked
on the other side of a large hedge.
As opportune time as any to introduce myself, I thought, and so I stood in a light rain waiting for the  door
on the other side of the hedge to open and close. And I waited. And
then I sat in the van with door cracked and waited. It was apparent
Secretary Cansler had more important business to finish up on his cell
or Blackberry than play into an ambush by a mental health advocate.
But
finally, I heard the door close, crossed the parking lot and introduced
myself, saying I hoped he had been getting North Carolina Mental Hope's
emails on inclusion of consumers and family members and telling him the
tone and actions of his first couple of months had certainly been
encouraging.
He gave a warm, genuine greeting, and although we
didn't walk far before we needed to go our separate ways, he seemed to
earnestly listen to what I had to say. In the questions that followed
the panel, Sec. Cansler again listened and seemed to honestly and fully
answer questions from both advocates and providers.
I again
commented on the need for mental health systems nationwide to be
consumer and family member driven, a conclusion of the recent NAMI "Grading the States 2009" report and echoed the report's finding that creating an environment of consumer respect was essential to success.
And now there's good reason to believe that Sec. Cansler will indeed work toward that end.
In
a recent email from the Secretary to long-time advocate Jeff McLoud,
board president of the North Carolina Mental Health Consumers
Organization and a North Carolina Mental Hope board member (click here for full email passed along with Sec. Cansler's permission), the Secretary wrote:
"To
avoid mistakes of the past, I clearly understand that our efforts must
include input and close cooperation with all stakeholders in mental
health care including close involvement of mental health consumers."
The email was in response to a March 19 article in the Carborro Citizen Jeff had sent. The article, "Mental health advocates say consumer voices go unheard," featured North Carolina Mental Hope's petition for inclusion.
The
public recognition of that need by Secretary Cansler should give hope.
It should give hope that he understands fixing our state's ailing
mental health system is more than efficient administration, more than
budgets, statistics, brick and mortar. It gives hope that he
understands or is trying to understand the despair and the passion of
those affected by mental illness, the sleepless nights, the fatigue,
the frayed nerves, the economic drain, the hopelessness of being
trapped and tangled in a maze of laws and situations where finding help
in crisis is often impossible.
And while it's an intangible,
passion, constructive passion, has got to be a part of the fix. More
people need to be passionate about mental health and zealously
evangelize against the injustices and the horrid misperceptions
surrounding issues of mental illness.
 But
how hard for so many to lift themselves from beneath the weight of
despair that crushes the life out of them, an image captured so
graphically by Depression Bear, part of NCMH Board Member Tracey
Turner's The Emotion Project.
Thank
you Secretary Cansler for recognizing the need for inclusion. It gives
hope and helps lift that weight just a little, a weight that has for
far too long held our state and citizens down.
David Cornwell
Executive Director
North Carolina Mental Hope
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