By Peter Tesei
A star athlete, a genius mathematician, a producer, a world-renowned photographer, a brother who was the smartest person in the room, a son who just graduated with honors – Severe mental Illness can develop (and have) in any of these people.
Developed is the key word I want to stress. Adults with severe mental disorders were not necessarily always this way. Severe Mental Illness is usually diagnosed later in life and is triggered by one or multiple events. These vulnerable people are more likely to be the victim of abuse than a perpetrator (2).
One of many scenarios could look like this: Imagine everything you knew growing up as a child, going to college, dating, having dreams of having a family. You may have had moments of hostility or issues working through a difficult time, but everyone does, right? Suddenly, your life takes a turn, and you find yourself in an extremely vulnerable state. You are not able to hold a job anymore, your friends and family treat you differently or fear you. Your life as you know it has radically changed and it feels like no one in your community understands or cares, they just want you to stay away and out of sight. You have done nothing to deserve what has happened to you, yet families are afraid to live near you and finding suitable housing is few and far between.
Now imagine you find yourself in a community that understands and has empathy. Instead of fearing you, families embrace you in their neighborhood and educate their children that you have gone through tremendous adversity and deserve love and compassion. Business owners work with social workers to find a job that is suitable for you. Even though you are going through this difficulty, your community is there for you, and you can live life with dignity, respect and a fulfilling purpose.
While studies of mental illness are constantly evolving, one area that is known is that valued socialization and relationships have proven to be of great importance when it comes to recovery from a serious mental illness (3).
There is a serious need for education and understanding of adults who suffer from a severe mental illness. As a Greenwich native and civil servant both as the First Selectman for 12 years and now heading into my 3rd year as executive director of Pathways, I find myself compelled to write to the community about this crisis we are facing. The lack of empathy, knowledge and funding for necessary resources is starting to take its toll. As a citizen of our very blessed and beautiful town, I encourage you to act by educating yourself on severe mental disorders. At Pathways, we hope that Greenwich will one day be a town that not only understands severe mental disorders but embraces those in our community who have them.
What you can do to help:
First and foremost, the best thing you can do to start helping is to educate yourself on severe mental illness/disorders. Here are some recommendations:
Sources/Reading Materials:
Recovery from severe mental illness – PMC (nih.gov)
Violence and mental illness: an overview (nih.gov)
Community‐based social interventions for people with severe mental illness: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of recent evidence – PMC (nih.gov)
Brother & Sister by Diane Keaton
No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America by Ron Powers
Of Two Minds (documentary)
Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me (documentary)
Many Sides of Jane (A&E series)
Touched with Fire (movie)
Paper Spiders (movie)
Silver Linings Playbook (movie)
A Beautiful Mind (movie)
Help Pathways help our community
Our greatest need is to come up with funding for maintaining quality housing and providing quality care to our clients. Our state and federal funding cover a little less than half of what is required. The rest comes from grants and private funding. We accept donations in various forms such as:
Direct purchases of client or housing needs
Corporate and personal gifts
Sponsoring fundraising events
Donating auction items and vacation homes at our annual gala
Beyond funding donations, we are currently looking for professional expertise in the following areas: Psychiatry, Human Resources and Strategic Planning
Attend an upcoming event:
May 9 – Sip and Shop at J. McLaughlin
May 19 – 9am, Stomp the Stigma Walk, Bruce Park
October 5 – Save the Date, Annual Gala Benefit
Lastly, I invite you to see our club and meet our beloved clients. Email our Development Manager, Rachel Hanley, at rhanley@pways.org to schedule a visit. We will be planning an Open House in the future. Details will be posted on our website www.pways.org.
Peter J. Tesei is the Executive Director of Pathways Inc. and previously served as Greenwich First Selectman for 12 years (2007-2019). His public service spans 32 years as a former Chairman of the Board of Estimate and Taxation and RTM District 9 Chairman. He presently volunteers his time as Chairman of the Board of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra and served on several non-for-profit Boards.
