Mental Health And The Home

When I was fourteen, I had fantasies of being taken from my home and being placed into a family where my new mother would never need me to accompany her to Ward 21 on a monthly basis. I imagined that I would stop being sad and ashamed because she wouldn't behave in ways that scared or embarrassed me.
There are many children in Jamaica who have similar experiences to mine. They are children who often have to deal with their realities in silence because of many reasons. Some, in fact, most of these reasons are ones that need to be urgently addressed in our society.
Jamaica needs to get to a place where people can talk about mental illnesses openly and without fear of stigma (in the case of those who have mental illnesses or have family members with mental illnesses). More Jamaicans need to learn how to talk about mental illnesses without feeling uneasy or simply writing off the mentally ill as 'mad'.
The government also needs to take more responsibility in providing support services for households in which one or more primary caregivers suffer from a mental illness. These services can come in the form of periodic household visits by social workers. They must also create media campaigns to educate Jamaicans on how to respond to not just the needs of people with mental illnesses, but their children and family as well.
Relatives of mentally ill persons must also take on some of the responsibilities in ensuring that children in these households are not adversely affected by their parents' incapabilities especially during psychotic episodes.

Of course, Jamaica has a long way to go in reversing the stigma attached to mental illnesses. But it is critical that is done. And if we truly believed the children are our future, we would want to play our part in making sure we have kids who grow up to be happy, healthy and confident adults.