Here’s a story about a kid with mental health needs. He suffered, ongoing, from significant depression. Sexual abuse and family indifference — perhaps they just didn’t know he had emotional and mental health needs — were part of his mix. Some seemingly poor decisions skidded him to the edge, where if things had gone otherwise he would have landed in “juvie” and his life would have gone south.
More troubling for this kid is that he didn’t know what to do. He was lost and had no one to whom he could turn in his struggles and suffering. This isolation only added to his depression.
I remember him saying aloud on a walk home from school, “If this is what life really feels like, this is awful.” Somehow he kept going, carrying the weight of unaddressed depression so heavy upon his shoulders.
I know this kid. His story is true. That kid was me. Time has passed, and, yes, the world and I have changed. But the impact of unaddressed mental health issues and the need youth have for counseling and support services has not diminished one iota and only increased over time. To not want to see the obvious is to stand in denial.
I’m dismayed by the decision of Gov. Paul LePage and Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew to turn away federal funding specifically targeted for treating mental health issues facing Maine youth. Considering the facts of human life, youth with mental health issues are a vulnerable population in all communities from Fort Kent to Augusta to Kittery.
Rejecting the last three years of a $1 million-per-year five-year grant destined for needed counseling and support services that help youth transition to adulthood will result in raising the vulnerability and failure to thrive bar for youth, who through no fault of their own have mental health issues that need professional, family and community attention.
Can LePage and Mayhew imagine what it must be like to walk in the shoes of a young person who is suffering from mental illness or untreated depression and with no one to turn to?
[For more of this story, written by Robert Merchant, go to http://bangordailynews.com/201...vived-that-struggle/]
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