News & Press

Community Wellness: 'Walk a Mile' rally brings attention to mental health, breaking down stigma

Representatives from Ionia County and other Michigan counties turned out this past Wednesday for the 12th annual “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” rally in Lansing. Almost 3,000 people came to bring the attention of our legislators to the need to stop stigma and give more money to support people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. It was a beautiful thing.

 

By Dennis Gaskin
Peer Support Specialist, The Right Door for Hope, Recovery and Wellness

Posted May. 20, 2016 at 5:53 PM

Representatives from Ionia County and other Michigan counties turned out this past Wednesday for the 12th annual “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” rally in Lansing. Almost 3,000 people came to bring the attention of our legislators to the need to stop stigma and give more money to support people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. It was a beautiful thing.

It's about a mile around the Capitol building. We walked the mile, and listened to short speeches. People told their stories about what it's like to walk in their shoes, and after each one the crowd cheered. They were not ashamed. There was a sense of freedom, because everyone was accepted for who they are.

If you break an arm, you get it fixed. If your brain breaks, people look at it as a terrible thing. My brain broke. I am not ashamed of it. I'm 66 years old and a Vietnam veteran. I've been through a lot of things. Bad things happened, and there were bad choices I made in life. Now I use those experiences to help others to not make those bad decisions. That's what it's all about. Just because you have a mental illness doesn’t mean you're not capable of doing the right thing.

Our legislators need to know that mental health matters, as much as physical health matters. Both are important for wellness. Today Michigan doesn't have equal health care coverage for mental health and physical health. Mental health and physical health shouldn't be treated differently. That's part of the stigma.

I've been on the other side of the glass. I received services from Community Mental Health for two years after I was diagnosed with a mental illness. I lost myself, and I wanted "me" back. CMH helped me get "me" back. I got into recovery and I've stayed in recovery.

Next month I'll mark four years as a certified peer support specialist at The Right Door for Hope, Recovery and Wellness. One day I'm a consumer, the next day I'm employed there. My own peer support person is now my coworker.

I'm not a clinician, a counselor or a psychiatrist. I'm a regular guy who knows stuff, and I want to give back. I know what it is like to live with a mental illness. I help my guys know they can do it, too.

That's what the “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” rally is about: letting everyone know we matter, and just like them, we are living a full life, contributing to our communities and making a difference. Everyone deserves to have the support they need to make that happen.

— Dennis Gaskin is a peer support specialist at The Right Door for Hope, Recovery and Wellness, formerly Ionia County Community Mental Health. If you have a mental health emergency, call 911 or our 24-hour crisis line at 1-888-527-1790. Visit The Right Door online at www.rightdoor.org and find us on Facebook. The Right Door in Ionia is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.