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There’s a narrative out there that nothing  in the mental health system works. And honestly… a lot of it doesn’t - and I write and speak about that side of things a lot. But every once in a while, something cuts through the noise. Something that actually helps people. Something that doesn’t just check boxes or push paperwork or keep people stuck in cycles of “treatment.” ACT teams are one of those things. What ACT Actually Is ACT stands for Assertive Community Treatment . But

For decades, I’ve lived inside the mental health system. Not just as a professional. Not just as an observer. But as someone who has had to navigate it from the inside - where the policies, labels, and decisions become personal. Over the past nine years, I worked toward a Doctor of Education in Health Services Administration. On paper, that’s the milestone. But what it really represents is something else: Time spent studying the system from both sides - living it, working in

Jim Kelly might have stayed in Buffalo partially because of his positive experience as a cancer patient at ECMC - but people who arrive at ECMC during the most vulnerable moments of their lives — suicidal, psychotic, traumatized, withdrawing, terrified - do NOT feel the same way as our beloved ex-quarterback. What they encounter instead of care is often: Long waits in chaotic emergency settings Minimal assessment Rapid sedation Security-driven responses Involuntary holds with

In many cities across the U.S., there’s a hidden cost to getting help when you’re homeless — a psychiatric diagnosis. This is happening now with an agency I work with, and I find it repulsive. If you're sleeping in your car, couch-surfing, or lining up at a shelter, chances are you’ll have to prove you're mentally ill to access services like housing, food, or support. Not hungry. Not broke. Not a victim of rising rent and vanishing jobs. No — you need to be “sick.” This prac

We color ourselves red, white, and blue each year, salute the flag, and tell each other how much we "support the troops." But when the troops come home—broken, traumatized, depleted—broken, traumatized, depleted—we leave them on their own. We make them sleep in doorways, beg for change, and die in back alleys alone. That's not support. That's betrayal. I work in an overnight, homeless drop-in center for folks with mental illness, and we have our share of vets. Although the nu

When we talk about homelessness, addiction, or mental illness, the conversation often centers around what we can see—substance use, lack of housing, or behavioral symptoms. But beneath those surface-level struggles lies a deeper, less visible issue that often fuels and sustains them: disconnection. Disconnection as the Root, Not the Side Effect Many people assume that disconnection happens because someone is homeless, addicted, or mentally ill. But growing research and lived

Juxtaposition – “ The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect ” I’m standing outside the homeless drop in center tonight talking to a young lady sitting on the ground who is bawling her eyes out. It’s very quiet outside except for her crying. She is diagnosed with bi-polar disorder which is part of it but she is also telling me that she can’t take it anymore. She hasn’t slept in three and a half nights and has been looking for a place to