To the editor:
Road warrior: This caption might make people chuckle, understandably, but this is one of many people in the United States being failed by our mental health system.
Washington is a mess and can't even work together. The basic needs of its citizens are being neglected while they are arguing among each other. Simply a sad state of affairs. We can write, call and protest until our fingers are cramped, our voice is strained and our legs are exhausted, and nothing changes.
Voting is our only way we can pray to get change, and I'm not sure that matters anymore either. But I'm sure as heck going to make it my question for those who run for any political appointment. I am sorry for the people who are in the same boat as my family is. There are billboards and TV ads that display numbers to call for suicidal feelings, depression, anxiety, and that is very important as well. But there are those who have severe mental health issues who need more than the ability to make a call, who are not aware of their own illness.
Those are the ones the hospitals, facilities and psychiatrists and therapists are letting down. Something needs to be done before the bad happens. It shouldn't fall upon the judicial system to have to sort out. I am not sure what the next move is, but something has to happen before the terrible happens.
And a word of advice for those who work in and have treatment centers: Try listening to family members and friends. Disregarding their concern helps no one. Vote out those who aren't working for us. Listen to those who are fighting for mental health.
Judy L. Ruckman
Mingo Junction