Your Call 050509 How do we connect with the mentally ill?

How do we connect with the humanity of the mentally ill? On the next Your Call we'll talk about how movies like The Soloist and the ballot proposition that could divert funds away from residential care impact our understanding and connection to the mentally ill. How far have we come in relating to and understanding the them? What kind of services are needed for them to tell their own stories? Send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org or join us live at 11 am. What have you learned from your own experience of mental illness or of friends or family members who are mentally ill? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Dr. Karin Tamerius in San Francisco
Karin was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1994 while a graduate student in political science at the University of Michigan. As a result of this experience, Dr. Tamerius entered medical school and is now a Psychiatry intern at UCSF.

Thomas Jefferson in San Francisco
Diagnosed with schizophrenia since the age of 16, he's been in and out of jail as a result of his illness. He was facing a sentence of 25 years to life under California's "Three Strike" law when he entered San Francisco's Behavioral Health Court.

Kathleen Connolly Lacey in San Francisco
Director of University of California San Francisco's Citywide Case Management Forensic Program which provides community-based treatment to 150 mentally ill offenders. She is also a founding member of San Francisco's Behavioral Health Court

Chance Martin in San Francisco
Community Organizer at Western Regional Advocacy Project. From 1999 2006, Chance was the managing editor for STREET SHEET--the oldest continuously-published street newspaper in the world.

Click to Listen: How do we connect with the mentally ill?