Why We are Opening a Home for Men With Serious Mental Illness

Some days it hits you like a ton of bricks. Days after a long stretch of my son doing well, days after clarity like we haven't seen in 7 years.

Bricks. They come, and there's nothing you can do but hold out your arms and brace for the weight of the break-through symptoms of severe Schizophrenia.

I caught a few moments with my son's doctor to discuss my observations. He tells me that we need to watch and look for signs of decompensation, to call him if I become concerned.

Then, as they always do, my questions flood forth about future outcomes. I've heard it before, but today these answers from my son's doctor woke me from my ease: "The longer we keep him from decompensating and out of the hospital, the better his chances are of staving off further damage to his neurons." And also this, "When some patients reach 50 to 60 years of age, Schizophrenia can actually disappear."

In a perfect world where people with disease can check into a hospital for serious symptoms of their illness this would have been comforting. A perfect world where individuals with severe & persistent mental illness can safely live with adequate support, I could go to sleep tonight and dream soundly.

But I can't. This isn't a perfect world and our system of care for these very vulnerable people is in shambles. While we waste time debating whether someone's right to be mentally ill and untreated trumps the right for quality treatment, thousands of men and women remain in fragile harm. While we hide behind and misinterpret laws that support unrealistic ideals of independence, thousands of men and women find their home in prison or on the streets.

If my son did not have an appropriate housing situation, tailored to his individual needs, would he even have made it this far? What about his future? What about everyone else who didn't make it into the very tiny percentage of available, appropriate homes?

In a small way, this is what we are seeking to change here at P82 Project Restoration. We want to open a home for men in the East Valley of the Phoenix, Arizona area who need more support, a home where men will be treated with respect and where we support their medical care.

We can only do this through partnership with our community, we can only do this with you. With your help, we can begin to make a difference in the lives of men who cannot speak for themselves.

Won't you consider helping us?

There are several ways you can do this right now:

1. You can donate directly through Paypal on the side bar of this blog or our website.

2. As you shop on Amazon this Christmas, sign in through Amazon Smile and choose "P82 Project Restoration, Inc." and Amazon will donate a small portion of your purchase to our 501(c)3 (see side bar).

3. If you shop at Fry's grocery store, please register your card online and select "P82 Project Restoration, Inc." as your designated charity. Fry's will also donate a portion of your purchases to our Charity.

Thank you for considering in advance, we are our brother's keeper. It's time to do the work of caring for our vulnerable neighbors. Together we can begin to make a difference.

Thank you,

Matthew and Deborah Geesling