What if the coordinator for the Office of Consumer Affairs in Florida, an
office funded by the Florida Department of Children and Families needed your help finding information on treatment options for anxiety? What if the director of 9Muses Art Center, Gallery & Frame Shop wanted to post a notice about art classes on the public bulletin board? During the week at story time, a young mother attends with her 5 year old son. Sounds like a typical day at the library, doesn't it? It is typical, because statistics show that 57.7 million adults suffer from some type of mental disorder, that symptoms are cyclical with long periods of stability between crises, and that this population is no more prone to violence than the rest of the population. Read these personal stories for a glimpse into the stigma many of these people faced and the odds they have overcome to reach recovery. After reading their stories, ask yourself, "Do the policies my library has in place for patrons with mental illness apply to them?" If not, now is the time to revisit your policies for this population and distinguish between people living in recovery and the small percentage of those with mental illness who are homeless and may be in crisis and in need of medical care.
Read more about each of the people above
from SAMHSA's campaign
What a Difference a Friend Makes
