When you walk into Bruce’s cramped, tattered apartment, the ominous, murky figure Bruce says is standing next to you doesn’t materialize before your eyes. Instead, you see the busted Mediterranean tile, the discolored television set, and the fleece-blanket curtains.
Mental illness isn’t a horror movie. It’s an illness unlike any other, but there’s no relief from one’s mind.
Bruce has schizophrenia, and he's thankful he has this apartment a few blocks away from Places for People, a local mental-illness treatment center. He’s fortunate to have a punctured mattress on his floor while Missouri has lost its psychiatric hospital beds due to budget cuts. So, with all things considered, Bruce tells me he is doing well—he really is.
Missouri was the first to discover that the mortality rates for those with mental illnesses are nearly 25 years younger than those without. Joe Parks, the medical director of Missouri's Department of Mental Health, says it’s usually not because of mental illness that they die earlier, but because of physical illness or external factors, which include the fact that, because of societal phobias, these disorders go undiagnosed for years or even lifetimes.
Bruce was diagnosed with schizophrenia not long ago, but he suspects he’s lived with it since he was 7 years old. At least, that’s when he started hearing the voices. Most of the voices tell him to do bad things, such as cocaine, which he’s so carefully avoided for nine months now. Bruce’s neighbors at his foster home while he was growing up paid him in the drug to mow their lawns. Eventually, due to addiction and the voices he couldn’t understand, Bruce dropped out of school and was homeless on the streets where he grew up. He was charged with a drug felony that exempted him from all state assistance.
But then Bruce found Places for People, and now, when the bad voices come, Bruce just stays inside and waits for them to pass. He never wants to hurt anyone, he explains. Bruce pauses here and swallows the lump in his throat. Bruce isn’t violent. In fact, contrary to the media-saturated image, less than 1 percent of mental-health patients ever are. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t constantly reminded of his challenge. He made the first real friend he’s ever had in the next building over from his.
To live in St. Louis with a mental illness is to live with hope. But it’s to live with hope only if you have access to the healing. And this hope means knowing that mental-health patients are ordinary people. This hope means knowing that chances of living full, successful lives are high for most. This hope means realizing that you are not alone because the number of people that are diagnosed with forms of mental-health issues increases every day.
This hope means that Bruce will do well. He really will.
GETTING HELP
If you or someone you know is suffering from a mental illness, check out these local resources:
National Alliance on Mental Illness: Legislative advocacy, education and support services for family members and friends of persons with mental illness
636-940-7440, namistl.org
Places for People: Community mental-illness treatment and residential center
314-535-5600, placesforpeople.org
Missouri Department of Mental Health: The Missouri Department of Mental Health system resources and news
800-575-7480, dmh.mo.gov
Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute: St. Louis mental-health treatment center
314-534-0200, slbmi.com
MPACT: Statewide training and information center for parents of children with disabilities
1-800-743-7634, ptimpact.org
Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri: Information and referral services, public and professional education, legislative advocacy, and support services for adults with mental illness
314-773-1399, mha-em.org
ADAPT of Missouri: Community support and psychosocial rehabilitation for adults with mental illness
1-888-657-3201, adaptusa.com
St. Louis Empowerment Center: Drop-in center for adults with mental illness
314-652-6100, dbsaempowerment.org
Crisis help hotlines:
Behavioral Health Response: 314-469-6644 locally, or 1-800-811-4760
Kids Under Twenty One (youth counseling): 314-644-5886 locally, or 1-888-644-5886
Life Crisis Services: 314-647-4357
