Consider two recent events, seemingly unrelated, but in fact very much related.
The first was personal—at least that’s how I took it. It happened last week.
SunCloud Health was looking to lease space in a large office building for a new outpatient treatment center where people can get our help with their recoveries. We are expanding in to another state (details to be announced soon!) in an area that certainly will benefit from our services.
As I was reviewing the lease terms with the building landlord, he said to me that we needed to include a clause that gave them the right to kick us out with short notice if our patients were perceived to be “disturbing others in the building, at their discretion….” This was a requirement, he said, due to the type of medicine we are in and the “type” of patients we serve. Horror of horrors: mental health.
I both was livid and saddened. It felt like a personal attack, despite the fact that I know it is based on nothing more than fear and ignorance. Here was another ignorant person who believed people in recovery—people with mental health issues—are to be feared and shunned. And they need to be kept away from the public for safety reasons. Ridiculous. And so untrue.
The deal fortunately unwound. We had a back up plan and are still on track to open in this new state. The sting, however, remains. Hopefully this building owner is not representative of the community we will be serving. Or maybe hopefully they are because if so, this certainly presents an opportunity to affect some badly needed change!
The second event you probably heard about. Where earlier this month, a 28-year-old musician with mental illness, Irvo Otieno, was detained near his home outside Richmond, Virginia, in response to a purported burglary attempt.
Police first took him to the hospital, where they say he assaulted them. At which point they transported him to the county jail, where he was booked.
Soon after, he was moved to the state mental health facility. He died there during the intake process after being handcuffed, put in leg irons, and held face down for 12 minutes by seven sheriff deputies. Does that remind you of anything?
My point is this: What’s behind this tragic incident with Irvo Otieno is the same thing that fueled the SunCloud Health leasing fiasco last week. Which is ignorance, stigma, and treating people with mental illness like criminals. Hundreds of thousands of people die each year because they don’t get the help they need and deserve. Ignorance, fear and stigma fuel this tragedy.
This clueless, sometimes deadly attitude needs to end. At SunCloud Health, we’re doing our best to make that happen by providing safe spaces for our patients and their families to heal, including in this new location! We are also focused on outreach and advocacy efforts which are badly needed.
Are you ready to help?
If so please email us at info@suncloudhealth.com. We are preparing to send the Mayor of this town a letter informing them of the need to educate members of their community, including this ignorant building owner!