A Call for Mental Health Awareness

For so long, our kids, neighbors, family members and coworkers have suffered tremendously, and this suffering is without end. What I am speaking about is the collective mental health crisis that our communities are facing now.

Education is the pinnacle matter for all the major mental illnesses that people can and have suffered from. It is crucial in our society today as a whole to address the mental health phenomena. We cannot address matters of mental health unless we understand the root of the problem and its origins. Lack of education is complicit to a failure of our mental health system for all the stakeholders. First responders and hospitals are at a total loss.

In Colorado, there are some arcane laws in place that deal with the mentally ill. And this makes this topic personal for me. What I'd like to shed light on are the laws that deal with the mentally ill who are possibly in danger; those laws are called the "not guilty by reason of insanity" laws. These laws are for people who are mentally ill and may or may not have committed crimes but are processed through the legal system. In this system, people are sent to facilities for treatment and many spend a very long time detained.

I bring this up because I was given the insanity plea in 2005. Fortunately, I was discharged and am doing well. I run businesses; I ran for Pueblo City Council in 2015 and Aurora City Council in 2017. The issues with my candidacy consumed the print and TV media when I made my runs: Unfortunately, the media smeared my campaigns and made me look like a criminal because of my mental health status.

This goes to show you that we are a ways away from understanding the mental health phenomena. I am a case in point.

It starts with having compassion for those who suffer and knowing what these symptoms of illness are. These disorders include bipolar, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety and other ailments. We as a society need to know how these ailments are created and how they manifest themselves. Most mental health issues often arise in childhood and manifest in early adulthood. We need to take heed and note the basis of these illnesses, as well as research what brought them about and why they are brought about.

We need to understand the treatments surrounding these illnesses and how to get help for those who need it. We need to know how to spot someone who is suffering from a mental breakdown and how to respond quickly. We need to understand that people are not crazy, but need our help urgently. We need to have a collective hope and caring attitude for all the interested parties.

Often, people in the early onset of a mental health crisis do not themselves know they are beginning to suffer — but those around them may have some clues. That is why I propose that mental health should be an awareness campaign in schools, so that people do not fall through the cracks of the health system and we may save a person's livelihood by early intervention.

So we need to look at other topics surrounding these issues, such as reducing the stigma of these diagnoses, and make sure that therapy and treatment are available as swiftly as possible and that we have coping strategies for families. Awareness is key to this subject, in that we can catch these issues early and often save individuals and families from suffering. Mental illness can be a scary topic to address — but with full awareness, we can bring it to the forefront.

We need to know what the outcomes and goals of treatment are, and how to make them more effective. How to be supportive of someone sick and suffering. Where to go for help and when. What does recovery look like? I suggest that we implement a task force to investigate these issues so that people who may be suffering get the attention they need.

Abel Laeke is an entrepreneur and aspiring public servant with a vision for the 2027 Denver City Council; he holds a B.A. from University of Colorado Boulder. He also pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in 2004 for indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, and sexual contact without consent, a felony; the incidents occurred while he was being treated as an inpatient at Denver Health. His record has been clear since then.

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