The woman said she wanted to take some time off, but explained that the future first lady had a mentally ill daughter at home. With little support for her, the woman’s husband took care of her daughter all night until he could take over her work in the morning after she finished her shift at the mill. .
“The image of that woman haunted me all day,” Carter wrote in her 2010 book, “Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis.” “I kept thinking about how much she and her family were suffering and how terrible it was to know there was no end in sight. I knew it was no use trying to get help. There was nothing available.”
The old woman’s story is one of many that Carter encountered on the campaign trail and in his personal life that helped shape the way he thinks about mental health. These stories of separation, fear and prejudice influenced her thinking as she took on leadership of the state Mental Health Commission after Jimmy Carter was elected governor.
Moral issues also led her to become a prominent advocate for mental health during her husband’s presidency from 1977 to 1981, and for decades to become an influential figure at the Atlanta-based Carter Center. We continued our efforts through mental health and caregiver programs.
Rosalynn Carter, 96, died Sunday, two days after the Carter Center announced she was placed in home hospice care. President Carter, 99, entered hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, in February. The Carters have been in the same ranch house since 1961, where they have lived for years in the Georgia Governor’s Mansion and the White House.
People usually come in hospice care When you receive a terminal diagnosis with a life expectancy of 6 months or less. Some patients survive longer. In hospice, the focus shifts from trying to cure the illness to providing comfortable care and support for the family.
During Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the Carter family will celebrate Rosalynn Carter’s fight dementia. Jimmy Carter has battled cancer and other health issues in recent years. Their last public appearance was at the town’s annual peanut festival in September.
In 1970, when she was traveling the state with Jimmy Carter, voters often asked Rosalynn about her mental health.
“I knew if he was elected, that’s what I would have to work on,” she said.
And for more than 50 years, starting at Georgia’s notorious psychiatric hospital, Central State Hospital, and moving to the nation’s fragmented and often underserved mental health systems, Carter has led the charge in Georgia to change the face of mental health care. He became one of the state’s and nation’s most effective and persistent advocates. Health is recognized and treated.
“When you think about what she’s done for mental health, you can’t quantify it,” said Cynthia, past president of Mental Health America and former executive director of the Georgia Mental Health Association. Wainscott said. “When I started this work, people weren’t talking about mental health. It was in the closet. But over the next few years, it became a daily conversation and she was the one who broke the door open. did.”
In a 2010 interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carter admitted that she knew little about mental illness and those who suffer from it until her husband’s failed gubernatorial bid in 1966.
“Jimmy had cousins who went back and forth to Central State,” she said. She recalled visiting the hospital with her husband for her social event. When she danced with his cousin, she didn’t know there were rules preventing close contact.
“Everyone was laughing,” she said.
But it was on the campaign trail, when she was able to shake hands and hug voters, that she kept hearing about relatives living in dire conditions at the state hospital in Milledgeville. Alternatively, she may live alone without receiving treatment.
Credit: Carl H. Schumacher
Credit: Carl H. Schumacher
Still, she said the early days were tough. She said the stigma surrounding her mental illness made it difficult for people to come see her or attend her meetings, “even though I’m the governor’s wife.” she told the AJC in 2017.
Steven S. Sharfstein, former CEO of Shepard Pratt Health Systems and past president of the American Psychiatric Association, said he spoke about mental health issues in 1979, when Carter was in the White House. I started giving advice.
“She took this issue more seriously than I could have imagined. Her leadership as a citizen, layperson and advocate was extraordinary,” Sharfstein said. “And she followed up on those years after the White House in an amazing way.”
During her 30 years of leadership, the nonprofit Carter Center’s mental health program has become a major force, hosting an annual symposium of mental health leaders from around the country to develop policy and provide accurate information on mental health issues. He also created a journalism fellowship program to encourage reporting.
“This is great progress, but we still have a long way to go,” Carter said in 2017. “We have been trying to overcome this stigma for years, but it still prevents many people from getting help. Today, they have recovered and the vast majority contribute to their communities. This is very sad because you could be a capable citizen.”
Georgia’s mental health care has a troubled history.
In 2010, after revelations of the abuse and deaths of dozens of patients at state psychiatric hospitals, Georgia entered into a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice that required it to move to a community-based system of care. The Carter Center worked with mental health advocates to help develop the agreement. Mr. Wainscott said Mr. Carter played a key role in the agreement, especially when both sides visited the meeting during the tense standoff.
“She didn’t speak for long, but what she said was, ‘This is really important. Please try to understand.'” Wainscott said. “We were stuck, but her presence and moral compass brought us all to the table and the temperature of the room changed. ”
Since then, the state has closed at least two psychiatric facilities and added dozens of new community services, including crisis stabilization units that provide short-term care for mental or behavioral health crises.
Speaking at one of Carter’s mental health symposiums in Atlanta in 2013, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urged insurance companies to cover mental illnesses in the same way they cover other health issues. and announced new federal rules requiring coverage for addiction.
“I have always believed that if insurance covered mental illness the same way it covers other illnesses like cancer and diabetes, there would be less stigma around these illnesses and our mothers, siblings, workers, and friends would be healthier,” Carter said. We’ve all said we’ll all benefit from that,” Carter said. time.
Wainscott recalls a woman coming up to her at a conference at the Carter Center about 20 years ago and asking to introduce her to Carter.
The woman said one of Carter’s early books helped her cope with her mental illness and saved her life. She had just read Carter’s latest book, “Helping People with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers.” This book helped her confront her son’s mental illness and save her son’s life.
“When they met, they were both standing there crying,” Wainscott said.
