Obituary

I meant to have your obituary in the paper for today. I finally wrote it. It took me nearly a year to find the right words, and I'm still not sure I was quite able to articulate them. I did the best I could though, and i guess that's really the best I can do. That's what's on my mind today.

My kitties are cuddling and it's very cute. I'm learning more about the issues that center around the mental health system... I knew of some of them already... Jaded and irritable providers, very little funding, massive stigma, etc. This, I knew about.

What I was not aware of, however, was the entire population of people who end up under court orders in inpatient facilities and other programs. Many of these people are homeless and simply found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, and didn't quite have the coping skills to escape. Our maybe it was resources they lacked, or they were victims of circumstance. Very few of the people I see are violent offenders of any kind. They just don't have good support systems. And when they're released, they're often released to the streets. I hate this about this world. I hate the "it's not my problem" philosophy... I think that's one of the biggest sold the world is currently facing.

It's incredibly sad, for me, at least,too see people in situations I would've certainly been in had I lacked an adequate support system. It makes me wish I could take them all in, house them, offer them the opportunity to take care of their hygiene needs, help them find jobs and gain the support they need so desperately... I wish I could fix it all...