As a result of her death, her son was placed into a home for the mentally ill and served no jail time. From my understanding, she did not understand the illness therefore she did know where to turn to for resources. Many people would tell her to take him different places for help but she trusted that she could handle him on her own. He was taking no medication and most of the family members were afraid of him because he was mentally ill. I think the stigma associated with mental health may have caused her to hesitate about getting him help. That stigma is a common concern because I hear people in my community and family say “mental illness is the devil” or “going to counseling pointless” therefore I am sure comments were worse back then. I came to the realization that getting help for a mental illness is looked down upon some people in the African American community causing people to feel ashamed to seek professional help when they are in need of mental health services. Her death was very tragic and unfortunate but it made me realize the need to facilitate conversations about mental health services in our communities just to bring awareness and let people know it is nothing wrong with seeking out these services. The situation saddens me and I often wonder what would have been different or if she was able to …show more content…
After completion of graduate studies, I intend to gain employment at a mental health agency. I want to provide mental health and psychotherapy services to individuals who have experienced trauma, have severe mental illness or suffer from complex issues due to mental illness. Being a mental health professional is one of the most challenging and demanding careers. It requires you to be very attentive to the individual’s situation, not seeking to cure them of anything, but seeking to help them make changes in their mental health stability. The reason why I am interested in this type of work is the same as mentioned before, I believe people overlook the need for these services but I know there is a rewarding feeling helping someone cope emotionally and providing them with extensive skills to maintain daily life while dealing with a mental illness. Most of all, I have a genuine concern for others and I know that this my passion. So many lives can be saved and changed just by opening your heart and having empathy for other people’s situations. Additional professional plans include doing some community development work in less fortunate communities. I have spent the past two winter breaks as winter intern for Danville Regional Foundation (DRF). DRF is a nonprofit organization, which has made over 125 grants totaling more than $65 million