June 2015 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Hard to believe we are already halfway through 2015. This year is flying by. Recently, a long time family friend asked why we started The LivingAssistance Fund. We gave the explanation we use in this (brand new!!!)  video - that most residential care for individuals with psychosis is private pay. But upon reflection, we established  LAF because it's just plain wrong that as a society, we have abandoned our mentally ill population.  The consequences are clear: 

• "People with untreated psychiatric illnesses constitute one-third, or approximately 250,000, of the estimated 744,000 homeless population."  (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2011)
• "One-third of visits to emergency rooms are by the homeless and the annual costs range from$18,500-$44,400 a year" (Green Doors)
• "A 2006 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that over half of all jail and prison inmates have mental health issues; an estimated 1.25 million suffered from mental illness, over four times the number in 1998". (Huffington Post, Sept 2013)

We decided to act on our outrage at the situation and attempt to do something about it. Please take the time to listen to Sarah Conti from McLean's Appleton program explain how important residential care is to achieve recovery beyond  acute in-hospital stabilization. And then spread our message to your friends, family and co-workers, suggested text ishere. 

Our latest fund raising idea is to create some T-shirts that will be sent to all donors. We are looking for ideas for our slogan! Current suggestions are, 

• LAF with us
• Get your LAF on
• Got LAF?

You can vote on one of these or supply your own (please, these are all pretty lame) by emailing livingassistancefund@outlook.com. 

We want to thank Sarah, McLean Hospital and the Appleton program for their efforts in making this video. Many thanks to Andrew Martin for donating his time and energy to film and edit the videos for us. Andrew is a musician and he composed the music especially for us! As always, we appreciate your support. Every little bit helps us expand our reach to help those who need it. Talk about LAF on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter with your friends & relatives! 

Happy summer, 
Monica & David