Mental Health Resources
It is my intent to use this space to list contact and address information for mental health clinics nationwide.
One of the more tragic aspacts of my story, something the prison psychologist here noted, was how preventable my mental collapse might have been with even the most basic treatment. Prozac has been extremely effective in reducing my depresssion to near non-existence. While I'm lucky to have found something that works for me now, I did not have any access to mental or health care for years. I did not even have a chance at diagnosing or treating my depression. Americans may find this hard to believe.
Coloradans will pay several hundred thousand dollars on my incarceration where they might have only paid hundreds on a my medication. (They are paying for my medication now; a sick irony to some, I'm sure). This country tells its citizens that if they will merely work their lives will be taken care of. Well, I did work. I managed a restaurant for years. 60 hour workweeks made the difference between a 22k per year salary and a 26k per year salary. Untreated depression ravaged my sanity. I could not afford even to think about doctors, let alone a psychiatrist.
But I don't want to rant about my story here. I must pass the torch on this project to my sister. Its success shouldn't be too difficult to realize. Its goal is to help spread access to mental health resources. A good place to start is to provide listing information on places which offer assistance for the poor or uninsured. I didn't know of any such places in 2008. I was too distracted even to look.
It's too late to rescue me from my past. That's tainted for good. But it's not too late to help prevent the next person from doing something crazy. I would urge you to contact me if you work in psychology or psychiatry and wish to help in some fashion or have your offices listed. I'm not quite sure what the end result of this idea will be, but my sister and I are both quite passionate about it.