Mental Illness

C. Alexander Haywood   |   OW Staff Writer
May 26 2011

The jury may still be out

“The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you.”— Rita Mae Brown (American Writer, b.1944)

Mar 31 2011

Learn about diagnosis, meds and more

The Urban Los Angeles and West Los Angeles Counseling Centers will sponsor the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ (NAMI) family-to-family education program on April 19 from 7-9:30 p.m. at 4305 Degnan Blvd., suite 104, L.A..

The free program is a two-week series of classes that will cover information for families of persons diagnosed with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jan 17 2009

NAMI sponsor vigil to highlight incarceration instead of treatment of the mentally ill

The Urban Los Angeles Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is holding a candlelight prayer vigil for justice Sunday from 5-6 p.m. in front of the Twin Towers Correctional facility, 450 Bauchet St., in downtown Los Angeles.

The purpose of the vigil is to: (1) pray for public understanding of mental illness as biological brain disorder; (2) pray for more housing facilities where people can be transitioned from arrest to treatment; (3) pray to raise the awareness of the criminalization of the mentally ill where mental illness means incarceration.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.