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According to NAMI, there is an undeniable and growing mental health crisis that demands both attention and action. 

Covid-19 has only made things worse.

Nearly 2 in 5 adults struggled with mental health issues in 2020, compared to about 1 in 5 adults before the pandemic. Among adults with mental illness, only 46% received treatment in 2020, a number that is far lower among Black Americans (37%), Hispanic/Latinx (35%) and Asian Americans (21%).

The crisis is especially acute among youth and young adults, as trends that had already predated the pandemic have turned even more ominous. 

In 2020, 75% of people aged 18–24 reported at least one mental health or substance use concern. 

In 2021, emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher among adolescent girls than in 2020.

Today's guests are working to make things better for their fellow students who have mental illness issues.

They are Mindy’s cousin's daughter, Claire Orth, who just graduated from the University of North Dakota, and Taylor Keane, her granddaughter, who will graduate from high school in Washington D.C. in two weeks. 

1.Please introduce yourself and share how you became interested in mental illness.

2. What do you see on your respective campuses so far as fellow students experiencing mental illnesses? Could you give a specific example?

3. How have those observations/experiences inspired you to help? (Claire took some training at her school so she could better help fellow students and chose schizophrenia for her senior capstone projects. Taylor also chose mental illness for a school project and for her Youth In Government legislation. She's currently doing an internship at the Treatment Advocacy Center where she is focusing on youth.)

4. All of us wrote in our books about missing early signs of our sons' illnesses. Do you think your friends' parents today are doing any better? 

5. What would you say to parents whose children are in high school or college and experiencing signs of mental illness? 

6. Are your friends aware that young people who smoke marijuana are five times more likely to have psychosis? 

7. Have you noticed anything that your schools have done that have helped students? Is mental illness part of the curriculum? School support staff?

Links:

https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/

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Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms

@SZ3MomsTrenches -  twitter

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, “Happier Made Simple”)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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When Mental Illness happens, it happens to the whole family.

 Do families turn to their houses of faith for help ? And if they do, what happens?

We explore this in Episode 44-    with 3 moms, one Rabbi and one Pastor. It doesn’t cover all faiths, of course, but it’s a start.

Guests: Rabbi Evan Schultz, Congregation B’Nai Israel, Connecticut

Rev. Mariah Furness Tollgaard, Pastor

Questions:

• Are you aware, as a faith leader, about mental health issues (especially SMI) in your congregants?
• What does your faith say about SMI?
• How do you, as a faith leader, respond to families dealing with mental illness?
• Is learning about Mental Illness part of your training?
• What part does stigma play in talking openly about SMI? - is it taboo to talk about it?
• How can we as activists/advocates help faith leaders serve their constituents?

According to Research (lifeway.inc):

• Only a quarter of churches (27 percent) have a plan to assist families affected by mental illness according to pastors. And only 21 percent of family members are aware of a plan in their church.
• Few churches (14 percent) have a counselor skilled in mental illness on staff, or train leaders how to recognize mental illness (13 percent) according to pastors.
• Two-thirds of pastors (68 percent) say their church maintains a list of local mental health resources for church members. But few families (28 percent) are aware those resources exist.
• Family members (65 percent) and those with mental illness (59 percent) want their church to talk openly about mental illness, so the topic will not be a taboo. But 66 percent of pastors speak to their church once a year or less on the subject.

Links:

NAMI FaithNet

Guide for Faith Leaders from psychiatry.org

Yom Kippur Sermon re mental illness

Want us to cover a topic? comment to share?

Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms

@SZ3MomsTrenches -  twitter

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, “Happier Made Simple”)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

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Randye Kaye
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We all agree (and letters and comments confirm) - the family feels lost. Doesn’t know what to do, where to turn, to get help with:

Finding options and services

Sorting through them

Place to vent and share/run through ideas

Our guest today provides that kind of help, and she is here today to share some tips with us. 

Guest, Bonnie Lane, (from Chicago area) 

For more than two decades, Bonnie has worked privately with families dealing with mental health issues. She has counseled individuals and families as  they successfully navigate the maze of care and resources available for young and older adults.  Helping families in times of crisis is her mission and her passion.  - The mission? - SUPPORT. 

 Bonnie will support you on your road to acceptance of the new normal. 

• Why does the family feel so stuck and unsupported? (and need services like yours)?
• Do you have a personal story that led you to do this work?
• What are the top areas of need? (legal? social services - benefits etc? emotional help for family?)
• What are the top tips you can share with our listeners to get the information, ideas, and support they need?
• Re your services:How much does it cost?
• Are you aware of other companies like yours in your  area or other areas? 
•  Does any insurance cover your services and if so do you  take MA? 
• What you do sounds important and needed, but is it only available for those with financial resources?

Links:

https://thefamilysupportservices.com/

Here's the YouTube link for the CATCH presentation. 

CATCH L and L - Creating a Game Plan

Want us to cover a topic? comment to share?

Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms

@SZ3MomsTrenches -  twitter

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, “Happier Made Simple”)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

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Randye Kaye
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Guests: Karen Comba, author of The Snipers We Couldn't See: A Memoir of Growing Up with My Mother's Schizophrenia

And Christina Lord, mental health advocate (Canada) daughter of a dad with SZ, 

First, your stories.

How has the experience impacted you (Karen writes about life “with footprints on her back”)

How did writing or sharing about it help? Or did it?

How did your experience- and the unpacking of it - inform the work you now do?

What do you most want other children of parents with SZ to know?

What do you want others to know - teachers, practitioners, other adults in a child-of’s life?

How to find happier places for your mind?

Links:
https://christinalord.ca/
https://www.karencomba.com/

Books we mention: (besides our own, Ben Behind His Voices, He Came In With It, and Fix what You Can)

She's Not Herself, by Linda Appleman Shapiro (formerly published as Four Rooms Upstairs)

Want us to cover a topic? comment to share?

Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms

@SZ3MomsTrenches -  twitter

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, “Happier Made Simple”)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

Support the show

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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Problem: Getting our  Homeless off the Streets and into Housing

Many of our seriously mentally ill wind up in jail, dead, or homeless.

It doesn’t have to be that way - and solutions in places like Trieste, Italy can show us the way, Heart Forward.

Meet Kerry Morrison, and discover a cost-effective, empathetic solution that lives up to “The human right to a sense of purpose.” 

Can a transformative care strategy, tested and proven in Trieste, Italy, work in Los Angeles, California?

• We hear you.
• We see you.
• You are safe here.
• Your voice matters.

Resources and links:

www.accoglienza.us.  

https://www.heartforwardla.org/podcast-season-1

https://www.heartforwardla.org/

Episode of Kerry’s podcast  with Dr. Roberto Mezzina:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1283882/8741627 

Want us to cover a topic? comment to share?
Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms
@SZ3MomsTrenches -  twitter

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, “Happier Made Simple”)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

Support the show

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
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We invited listeners to come on board for this episode, for some Q and A, and wow did they come through!

This is one of our most powerful shows ever, thanks to you. Yes, if you want, we will do this again.

We discuss:
how we wrote our books
How to help the Treatment team include us - even if they are reluctant (HIPAA, confidentiality, etc.)
Planning for when we are no longer able to help
The value of our anger, the value of our love
Lack of training for many practitioners re SMI (serious mental illness)
Conservatorship/Guardianship
SSI/SSDI
Positive life lessons for us in all this...
and much more.

Want us to cover a topic? Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms
Twitter @SZ3MomsTrenches

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, Happier Made Simple)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

Support the show

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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If you have a mental illness, how does isolation add to the challenges you face?

Guest (and self-described schizophrenic) David "Eli" Israelian talks about his story, and two incredible projects:
Painted Brain | Putting Brains To Work! We're building community-based solutions to mental health challenges and the impact of social injustice through arts, advocacy, and enterprise. - 

Painted Brain creates lasting community-based solutions to mental health challenges and the impact of social injustice through arts, advocacy, and enterprise.

and Peer Mental Health:
Community wellness meetings 

 Social and Emotional Support Groups  

 Faith- based support groups 

 Workforce development 

 Stipend & job opportunities

links:
https://www.facebook.com/PeerMentalHealth/
https://www.peermentalhealth.com/
https://paintedbrain.org/ 

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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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We talk a lot about the emotional stress and shock of caring for someone with SMI, but what about the financial shock? Is debt an issue? How does your loved one handle money? How do you get services? Do the wealthy have better support? Do families have to go broke to have support, and what is the additional emotional effect of money on the family mental health?

Savannah Price, in the UK, is doing research on this - and today we turn the tables and let her interview us. 

Savannah is building a company to improve the mental and financial resilience of young people with mental health problems by targeting the vicious cycle between money management and poor mental health.

We talk about:

• financial shocks
•  the vicious cycle between poor mental health and dysregulated spending
•  financial literacy
• Family responsibility
• And look at another, international, health system of “care”

About Savannah:

Savannah is originally from South Africa, but moved to the UK for university. She started her career as a geologist before launching an Equestrian competition and sales business in Ireland. She most recently completed her MBA at the University of Oxford and is starting a company in Mental Health.

She has a strong history of mental illness and disability in her family - she has a sister with schizophrenia, another with bipolar and her youngest sister has autism with significant learning disabilities.

Given her lived experience, she is currently doing research into how money and mental health are interrelated, and how having serious mental health problems impacts families financially and emotionally.

Not only do many mental health problems result in financial strain for young people and their families, but ultimately the breakdown of supporting relationships over time. 

To address these problems, we are working to develop personal “relapse signatures” for young people who suffer from dysregulated financial behaviours due to mental health problems such as personality disorders, bipolar, psychosis, depression, anxiety, gambling, substance use disorders and ADHD. 

We do this by overlaying spending patterns with other data you can get from a mobile phone, to track symptoms of poor mental health. 

This then allows us to tailor products and services according to their goals/needs, and improve wellbeing, both financial and otherwise. 

What it can also do, is give their loved ones insight into our users' mental and financial state in real-time, to flag risk and possibly intervene before there is a crisis - all the while advocating for agency and empowerment. Our mission is to blaze the trail for preventative healthcare through behavioural finance.

If anyone wants to learn more or to get involved with the research and product design - they are more than welcome to reach me on [email protected], or my LinkedIn.

Want us to cover a topic? Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, Happier Made Simple)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

Support the show

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Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

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Rachel Streiff: Mental Health Advocate, Mentor to SMI Caregivers, Data analyst for Team Daniel Running for Recovery from mental illness, (Dr. Robert Laitman’s organization),  chemical and biomedical engineer with a legacy six sigma black belt certification - Mother of our guest in episode 22, who is currently a full-time college student.

If you enjoyed her son's story in Episode 22,  hear his Mom's side of the advocacy and how she insisted on the best available care - a standard some practitioners do not follow. A very powerful hour.

Links:

[email protected]

TeamDanielRunningForRecovery.org

Clozapine facebook page

Team Daniel facebook page

SZ 3 Moms Facebook page

Get on the mailing list:

[email protected]

Dr. Laitman’s Book:

https://www.amazon.com/MEANINGFUL-RECOVERY-Schizophrenia-Serious-Clozapine/dp/172748424X

New finger-prick Point-of-service test

Who Are the 3 Moms?

Want us to cover a topic? Ask us a question? Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, Happier Made Simple)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

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Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman

Send a Text to the Moms - please include your contact info if you want a response. thanks!

“Does anybody have a map?...” - a lyric from the show Dear Evan Hansen, sung by the parents of the show’s adolescent children.

If you are a “Mom in the Trenches” of serious mental illness in your child, you also know the feeling - all too well .

Judith R. Smith, (mother, psychotherapist, professor, researcher on women’s issues as they age) noticed that the topic of mothering challenging adult kids was a topic that had no map - at least on the bookshelves.

So she researched, and wrote one, and it’s available this month.

We ask:

• Why this book?
• What did you learn in your research and interviews with mothers of challenging adult children?
• What does shame have to do with it?
• “ Unpaid and unrecognized maternal caregiving work continues to limit women’s quality of life” - what can mothers do to help themselves?
• Did you learn any tips for helping or handling our challenging adult kids?

“Difficult brings to life the conflicts that arise for mothers who are confronted with the unexpected, burdensome, and even catastrophic dependencies of their adult children associated with mental illness, substance use, or chronic unemployment”

Links:

Amazon - get the book!

Twitter: @JudithRSmithPhd

Judith’s facebook page: Difficult Mothering

[email protected]

Difficult Mothering Website

JASA - for aging services in NYC 

Who Are the 3 Moms?

Want us to cover a topic? Ask us a question? Facebook page @Schizophrenia3Moms

Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, Happier Made Simple)

Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”

Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can“)

Support the show

Please share and support the podcast so we can reach more people who need the info and support.

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Our websites:
Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman