An upsetting thing happened when I was editing this piece. I looked to buy stock photos of mental hospitals in the US. I saw the most frightening and darkly “comical” images of people in straight jackets making insane faces. And that is all. Not a single normal image of a mental health care facility out of thousands. This can’t be how we view mental illness, is it??? Mental illness is the most common illness there is. Why do we attach ridiculous stigmas to it? We will never be close to curing something that we do not accept!

I am writing because I can’t get the good people at Preferred Behavioral Health out of my head. I shot this piece in May 2015. I spent the week with the devoted staff and their clients. The experience will never leave me. These are people helping their neighbors to get back on their feet again. They have programs for anyone dealing with mental health or addictions. If it is not under roof, they will find the help. They turn no single person away. They also make a big investment in preventing addictions and bullying through their Prevention First organization.

Please watch if you have 5 minutes. We all can make a difference just by changing our perspectives.