To the editor:

I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to attend the Mental Health Task Force Public Forum sponsored by CHIP (Community Health Improvement Project) at the library on May 23. I commend the diverse and representative members of the task force for their concerned consideration and presence.

Many people who are overwhelmed as caregivers or have brain disorders themselves could not be there. Yet, I heard moving testimony that supports the appeal for an in-patient mental health facility for those in crisis or recovering from crisis. Forums such as this educate the community about brain disorders, help to reduce the stigma associated with them and illustrate the need for comprehensive care which is the mark of an enlightened, compassionate society.

Among the mentally ill have been some of our most creative individuals, including composers, musicians, visual artists, poets and writers – Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Vincent Van Gogh, John Keats, Virginia Woolf and Ralph Waldo Emerson, to name just a few. If we do not care for all of our own, we are not only lacking compassion, we stand to lose some of the most brilliant music, art, and literature of the future.

Sandy Hazlett Mitchell,

Lawrence