Mental Health Archives » Page 2 of 2

22Jun 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Deportee, son discuss separation on Father’s Day

Gazette Column

Iowa City pastor was deported to Honduras in March The connection left a lot to be desired. But, actually, that was the point. Pastor Max Villatoro and his son, Anthony, reunited in a public setting this week to discuss their first Father’s Day apart. The Villatoro family has been separated since the man known simply as Pastor Max was arrested in Iowa City as part of a federal immigration sting and deported to Honduras in March. Father and son were brought together with the help of technology on Thursday as part of a webcast by advocacy group America’s Voice. In so many ways, it was a heartbreaking reunion to hear and watch. [caption id="attachment_1082" align="alignleft" width="300"] Pastor Max Villatoro, a former resident of Iowa City who was deported to Honduras…

09Feb 2015 by Lynda Waddington

There’s still time to be brave

Gazette Column

Those living with mental illness asked to speak up, break stigma Sit down and have a conversation with Iowa City blogger Brook Easton and you won’t walk away with the impression that she is a person coping with health challenges. And, frankly, that’s the point. Easton, a wife and mom of two boys, is like so many others — a quarter of all Americans, according to national studies — who live with a mental illness. It’s a challenge she knows well, one that she shares with her father and a son. “So many times, to a person seeing only the outside, it is invisible,” she said. “People see someone holding down a job or going to school. What they can’t see is what is happening inside that person’s head.” And,…

02Feb 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Our mental health system still has cracks

Gazette Column

We are not beyond stigmatizing health problems My sister-in-law, Susan, one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, couldn’t fight off a blood infection. She juggled not only my brother — a lifelong minister too often focused on lofty pursuits to be bogged down in the daily chores of living — but five children as well. We buried Susan a few weekends ago and it was, as you might expect, an emotional ceremony. At the same time Susan was in the hospital, another mother decided her life was no longer worth living. Beckie, who battled mental illness, first turned a rifle on her two adult sons before contacting a relative to say goodbye. By the time law enforcement was alerted and arrived at the rural home, all three were dead. The two…

08Jun 2014 by Lynda Waddington

More IJH rush jobs won’t serve Iowans or at-risk youth

Gazette Column

About midway through May, a moving van and trailer arrived at Toledo’s now shuttered Iowa Juvenile Home. According to the Iowa Department of Human Services, furniture, appliances (including older computers) and records were removed from the site and relocated to other state-run facilities. Area residents and former facility workers who had purchased flags in honor of loved ones or donated to the Iowa Juvenile Home Foundation to provide specialized materials for the school library, worried these items and other historical artifacts had been removed from the site. A DHS spokeswoman says while the future of these items are discussed, they remain at the Toledo facility. But the move, hit-and-miss property upkeep and near constant presence of highway patrol officers in the parking lot have done little to alleviate the worry…

02Jun 2014 by Lynda Waddington

Prison alternatives needed for mentally ill

Gazette Column

Saturday’s column provided a closer look at a Johnson County criminal case involving a 29-year-old man on the autism spectrum who is facing 45 years in prison for crimes related to his obsession with a former girlfriend. When the man is sentenced to prison later this month — and there is little reason to believe he will not be sent to prison — he will join the ranks of some 8,000 Iowans who live behind bars. Of those inmates, according to the latest annual report by the Department of Corrections, about 47 percent have a mental health diagnosis for a chronic condition. Within that percentage are seven other individuals who share the Johnson County man’s diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome. While the most common diagnosis among inmates is substance abuse disorders and depression, the report…

31May 2014 by Lynda Waddington

Johnson County case highlights need for broader mental health discussions

Gazette Column

A few days ago, I received a Twitter message from a Chicago-area man hoping to aide his son, held by Johnson County since late 2012 on $1 million bond. Sending the message was Joseph Jason, and his son, Daniel Jason, is a 29-year-old with a neurodevelopment disorder commonly known as Asperger Syndrome. Like many with this syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum, Daniel is high-functioning. Joseph is quick to point to a lack of physical violence by his son, and equally as quick to brush aside the terror that was inflicted. [caption id="attachment_244" align="alignright" width="480"] Daniel Jason (Source: Johnson County)[/caption] Daniel was recently found guilty on three felony counts related to an obsession with a former girlfriend, and was labeled a habitual offender last Friday. The latter means that…