I Love Photoshop.

I think the title says it all. Well, most of it. The picture below says the rest of it.
Please support me and NAMI by making a donation at http://namiwalks.nami.org/Jennifer.

Jennifer Clark (c) April 28, 2013

Y is for You

The photo was taken by my cousin Amy. I made the modifications by playing with Photoshop.

NAMIWalks take place all over the country. To find one near you go to http://namiwalks.org/

W is for Walk... NAMIWalk that is!

Time for the Walk.... the Austin NAMIWalk that is.

Shamelessly, I ask you to support me and NAMI by making a donation at http://namiwalks.nami.org/Jennifer.

The Austin NAMIWalk is a 5K walk that starts at West Riverside Drive at South 1st Street, Austin, Texas. It takes place on September 28, 2013 and people start walking at 9:00am (check-in is at 7:30am).

The walk taking place in Austin is only 1 of many taking place around the country at different times of the year. It's held annually for two big reasons:

1. to increase public awareness of mental illness
2. to raise money so NAMI Austin can fund the support, education, and advocacy programs offered (for free) in our community.

The view from the starting location of the Austin NAMIWalk

S is for Save the Date

Directly from the NAMI Austin NAMIWalks Website:

SAVE THE DATE for the 2013 NAMI Austin Walk:

Saturday, September 28, 2013

The Austin Walk is part of a nationwide program sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) that has two primary goals:

1. To increase public awareness about mental illness and the devastating effects that it has on the lives of millions of Americans – one in five families – every year.
2. To raise much needed dollars to help fund the wide array of NAMI support, education, and advocacy programs here in our community.

2012′s Austin Walk was a huge success with more than 2,000 walkers participating and a record-setting $258,000 raised for NAMI’s programs. Get ready for 2013 to:

• Recruit your family and friends.
• Rally your co-workers.
• Call on your communities.
• We can all help raise community awareness … one step at a time.

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For more information about NAMIWalks Austin, please contact:
NAMI Austin Office: 512-420-9810
Email: namiwalks@namiaustin.org

To make a donation to NAMI Austin through me, go to the following website ...

http://namiwalks.nami.org/Jennifer

Let's made stigma disappear!

Is This Fair? Maps of Mental Healthcare Availability

Here in Austin, I-35 is a great dividing line carved through our city and the differences between communities east of the highway and those west of the highway are, to use a tired analogy, like night and day.  I took a peek at some of those differences, focusing on the availability of mental healthcare services.  My exploration gives only a glimpse of a truth but the observations are substantial enough to warrant a more serious look at the accessibility gap.

I entered "psychiatrists austin texas" in the Google Maps search bar to start with and the picture below was the result.  The red dots and bubbles mark the locations Google Maps identified as matching my search criteria.  The number of dots is significantly higher west of I-35 and disconcertingly low east of I-35.  If the population density dropped sharply the difference wouldn't be so worrisome, but it doesn't.

Psychiatrists in Austin, Texas

One picture is hardly conclusive and I changed the search criteria to something a bit broader - "counselors austin texas."  As shown below, Google Maps doesn't identify many counselors on the east side, either.  More to the point, the imbalance in the number of counselors resembles that of psychiatrists.

Counselors in Austin, Texas

Hoping for something better, something more equitable, I created yet another map with even more expansive search criteria.  I typed "mental health services austin texas" in the search bar, hit enter, and saw the following:

Mental Health Services in Austin, Texas

The density of dots increases across the map, both east and west of the highway.  Unfortunately, the disparity between east and west is reiterated.


I know this research isn't thorough enough to support firm conclusions; I'm not suggesting that it is.  Let's be clear on that point.  It does, however, testify to a pattern of inequity and one that is worth delving into.