May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Advocates still battle the perception that the illness is not being treated on a par with physical ailments.
The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) has been at the forefront of the fight to educate the country as to how mental illness impacts thousands of lives. NAMI of Bristol County president Brenda Venice has been doing that work locally for over 25 years. She says those diagnosed with mental illness continue to face barriers in seeking treatment.
Of equal importance is helping families identify mental illness in loved ones and how to seek help.
Venice spends countless hours organizing informational events about mental illness and taking that awareness message to local high schools. She says the temporary focus on mental health seen this month is of little comfort to those with family members suffering from mental illness.
Comments are closed.