Violence.. What Violence?

It’s just like it was yesterday. I had fallen asleep with no worries only to wake up with my life in shambles. “David is dead,” my cousin yelled at me as I awoke completely confused and uncertain about what 
I was hearing. I thought it was a dream. But, within minutes my mom had confirmed that it was true. My first cousin, the closest person I had to a biological brother had been shot and killed. My cousin had been coming from a night out with friends, was stopped in what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop and was murdered as a result. “Lil David,” as our family lovingly called him had been killed and we could not understand why. No guns, no weapons, four other people in the car riddled with bullets including his five month old daughter, but no one on the police force could explain why. It’s been years now and my family has yet to receive any answers. I was completely upset by the situation. I cried. I was angry. I wanted to fight. I asked why. I prayed for understanding. I prayed for him to come back. Nothing worked though, at the end of the day, he was definitely gone and never coming back. The support of my family and the love that we showed to one another, is what got us through one of the most difficult times in our lives. Even though the situation tore me to pieces, I continue to live life with no regrets, strive to be successful and (when I need additional motivation) to make “Lil David” proud of his baby cousin.

Sadly though, my cousin’s death was not the only bit of violence I have experienced in my lifetime. Violence is a stressor that has plagued my city and ultimately my life, for as long as I have been alive. Violence is on every street corner and every area of the city of Savannah, GA. There have been multiple rallies to stop the violence and promote a safer living environment, numerous city council meetings and everyone has unlimited amounts of input via social media, but nothing has changed. In fact, it seems the violence in my city only get worse, but we continue to work through, persevere and live from day to day as only we know how.

Now, there are other places that have issues with violence, but Africa is a country that is plagues by a different sort of stressor. HIV/AIDS disease is an epidemic in Africa. “It is estimated that 90% of the world’s HIV-infected children live in Africa, and more than half a million die of AIDS each year.” Even worse, “when parents start to develop full-blown AIDS, they cannot work, and need to be looked after. Children not only have the distress of seeing their parents deteriorate but also are no longer provided for and have to try to help care for their parents.” Thankfully though, their are organizations such as the SOS Children’s Villages organizations, that step in to assist these children and their families.

References:

http://www.aids-children.org/

Mental Health: The Reality

Mental health is an issue that is all too often overlooked and in some cases simply ignored. Mental health directly affects people of all colors, creeds and ages even; it does not discriminate. Even very young children may show early warning signs of mental health concerns and are often clinically diagnosable. “Unfortunately, less than 20% of children and adolescents with diagnosable mental health problems receive the treatment they need. Early mental health support can help a child before problems interfere with other developmental needs. (Mental Health)”

It was important for me to take on the topic of mental health awareness, because in this past month I have come across multiple instances where women are causing serious harm and/or killing their small children. One of those instances occurred in my own town, where a 26 year old mother of four, drowned her eight month old and 18 month old in a bath tub and contacted law enforcement to report what she had done. Since this instance took place it has been determined that the woman’s state of mental health played a major part in the fatal situation and in some ways could have been prevented since the young lady had actually been seen and released from a hospital for her mental status earlier that same day; she was released, alone, with her children.

It is important that we bring awareness to mental health within our communities so that we can work together as a unit to reduce the chances that children, youth and young adults will develop mental health problems.

Around 173 million Chinese suffer from a mental disorder, according to a 2009 study published in British medical journal The Lancet. It has been estimated that only 5% of people who currently have a mental illness in China have received psychiatric care from a professional. The government is working toward a improvements within their mental health system, such as financing mental health services and provide training for primary care providers. Among the most significant changes has been a new set of rights for patients, including not being hospitalized against their will. (Nylander, 2014) 

Confinement in government mental institutions has been used increasingly over the past decade. These mental institutions are called "ankang” or "peace and health" hospitals and are managed by the Public Security Bureau. According to Human Rights Work in Hong Kong, treatments within these institutions include beatings and electric shocks. As of 2011, there were some 20 "ankang" institutions operating in China. (Nylander, 2014)

References

Infographics & Fact Sheets. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2015, from https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Fact-Sheet-Library

Nylander, J. (2014, May 6). China's mental health care system is lacking - CNN.com. Retrieved November 5, 2015, from http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/06/world/asia/china-mental-health/

Www.mentalhealth.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2015, from http://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/myths-facts/index.html