One Mind co-founders, Garen Staglin and Patrick J. Kennedy co-wrote an op-ed published on TheHill.com on that states that if we are to have community health, we must address the urgent needs of marginalized populations most in peril.
The crisis within a crisis: Panic and pandemic
By Garen Staglin and Former Rep Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.)
The COVID-19 pandemic links the fates of individuals, communities and economies worldwide. But for those among us struggling with mental illness, their plight is particularly precarious. And just as the pandemic caught many hospitals and health systems unprepared, a crashing wave of suffering has entirely overwhelmed what meager systems are in place to deal with the mentally ill. If COVID-19 offers a wake-up call about our fragile human condition it is that the illness and suffering of one eventually touch us all, and that community health requires that we address the urgent needs of marginalized populations most in peril.
At any given time, people with mental illness are at greatest risk of homelessness, incarceration and a host of…