I want to thank the people who have contributed
to me so far. It is so appreciated. And I want to assure those of you
who visit this page that I believe in paying it forward. There is both a
local animal rescue and a veteran's retreat / farm near where I am
trying to move that I hope will be able to spend some time volunteering.
I do what little I can from the family internet connection and my old
laptop: sharing amber alerts, lost pets, etc.
It's hard to find ways to help others when you have to get a ride from someone to go to the grocery store. The last time I saw my doctor, about eight months ago, my mother took me and paid for it. (Did I mention that I'm in my forties and this is horribly embarrassing?) I went because I had been sleeping 2-3 hours a night for several weeks and some nights not at all. He was mad at me for not taking several of my medications because they were only "four dollars" or he could give me some new options that were only "four to ten dollars."
When even the medical professionals don't realize how little assistance is available for certain groups or classes of people, there is a problem at the deepest levels of our system. I can't get a bed in a psychiatric facility without actually attempting to kill myself (I promised my mother I wouldn't) or hurting someone else. But a phone call to the local community mental health service provider looking for a bed yielded me two offers of beds in facilities to go "detox" in. I can get all kinds of help for substance abuse problems, but if I'm not an alcoholic or a drug addict apparently I'm out of luck.
It's hard to find ways to help others when you have to get a ride from someone to go to the grocery store. The last time I saw my doctor, about eight months ago, my mother took me and paid for it. (Did I mention that I'm in my forties and this is horribly embarrassing?) I went because I had been sleeping 2-3 hours a night for several weeks and some nights not at all. He was mad at me for not taking several of my medications because they were only "four dollars" or he could give me some new options that were only "four to ten dollars."
When even the medical professionals don't realize how little assistance is available for certain groups or classes of people, there is a problem at the deepest levels of our system. I can't get a bed in a psychiatric facility without actually attempting to kill myself (I promised my mother I wouldn't) or hurting someone else. But a phone call to the local community mental health service provider looking for a bed yielded me two offers of beds in facilities to go "detox" in. I can get all kinds of help for substance abuse problems, but if I'm not an alcoholic or a drug addict apparently I'm out of luck.
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