The Rev. Keri T. Aubert  Acts 8:26-40

All Saints Episcopal Church, South Burlington, Vermont Psalm 22:24-30

May 10, 2009  1 John 4:7-21

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B, RCL John 15:1-8

First John says, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” That’s one of the most beautiful passages in scripture, but let’s be honest: sometimes love is hard.

JUMP, the Joint Urban Ministry Project, is housed at First Congregational Church of Burlington, in a large parish hall nearly as large as this church. On one of my mornings there last summer, as the volunteers and I got started for the day, I noticed an odd and unpleasant odor in the room. I couldn’t readily tell what it was or where it was coming from, but I guessed that it emanated from rotten food or a dead rodent. I was busy, so I decided I’d check it out after the clients left for the day. As the morning wore on, however, the smell got stronger and more unpleasant. Mid-morning, I happened to walk by a woman sitting away from the other clients at the far side of the room. I realized with surprise that the smell was coming from her, and that it was a combination of body odor and urine.

I got the woman’s paperwork and sat down with her. Jane was homeless, living on the streets of Burlington. She was at JUMP to request a bus ticket to return to another state where she had family living. JUMP doesn’t help with out-of-state transportation, and I generally refer people with such requests to other agencies that sometimes do. But even if Jane could come up with a ticket, I knew that the bus company would not let her on board the bus smelling like she did.

Fairly sure that Jane suffered from untreated mental illness, I called the HowardCenter Street Outreach Team to find out whether they had worked with her. Team members had tried to get Jane to go to COTS and to help her get cleaned up, all without success. The team member I spoke to encouraged me to try it myself. I went back to Jane. “Jane,” I said, “They won’t let you get on the bus if you don’t get cleaned up.” She looked directly into my eyes, her eyes wide and imploring. She asked, with genuine sincerity, “Do I smell bad?” It was one of my saddest moments ever at JUMP.

I gently confirmed that she indeed smelled very bad, I told where she could get a shower and clean clothes, and I encouraged her to get cleaned up. My suggestions were the same as those already offered by the Street Outreach Team. I also suggested places where she might get help with a bus ticket. I gave her a small amount of help with something else—maybe food, but I don’t remember—and I sent her on her way. I haven’t seen Jane again. I hope that she found her way to people who helped her and whose help she accepted. I hope she is off the streets and safe and healthy.

I fear she is not. And if she is safe, there are so many others who aren’t. Decades ago, well-intentioned reform efforts resulted in the closing of mental institutions. The focus shifted to community-based mental health services, but the results have been mixed. Today there is a disproportionate number of mentally ill people among the homeless[i] and the incarcerated.[ii] For example, of adults using homeless services, 31% reported having a combination of mental health and addiction disorders.[iii] 24% of state prisoners and 21% of local prisoners have a recent history of a mental health disorder.[iv] Seventy percent of youth in juvenile justice systems have at least one mental disorder, with at least 20% experiencing significant functional impairment from a serious mental illness.[v] As one study put it, “America’s jails and prisons are now surrogate psychiatric hospitals for thousands of individuals with the severest brain diseases.”[vi] The Soloist, a new film currently playing in theaters, is the true story of the relationship between a Los Angeles Times journalist and the street person he befriends, who happens to be not only living with schizophrenia but also a Julliard-trained musician. I haven’t yet had a chance to see the film, but I understand that it doesn’t simply serve up a feel-good ending.

Such an ending would have been too easy to be true. Unfortunately, the challenges associated with mental illness are made more difficult by the ways in which we as a society respond to it. In March, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, released its latest state-by-state “report card” on the nation’s mental health system. The average grade nationwide was a D; Vermont earned a C. Six states earned an F. In the current economic environment, things are not likely to get better. A representative of the Vermont chapter of NAMI states that in the last six months Vermont has lost 170 community-based mental health positions due to budget cuts.[vii]

It’s important to remember here that we’re not just talking about people who live on the streets. Jane’s situation is extreme and public, but Jane affects us only at a distance. Many if not most of us are affected by mental illness must more directly, through our own mental illness or the mental illness of a close family member. The numbers are stunningly large. Let’s hear a few more statistics about mental illness in the United States:

·        One in four adults experiences a mental health disorder in a given year. One in seventeen lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression, or bipolar disorder. About one in ten children has a serious mental or emotional disorder.

·        1.1 percent of the adult population lives with schizophrenia.

·        Bipolar disorder affects 2.6 percent of the adult population per year.

·        Major depressive disorder affects 6.7 percent of adults. This is the leading cause of disability for people aged 15 to 44.

·        Anxiety disorders affect about 18% of adults.

·        2.4 percent of adults have co-occurring mental health and addiction disorders.

·        Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death and the third leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 24.

·        Less than one-third of adults and half of children with a diagnosable mental disorder receive any mental health services in a given year.[viii]

Despite these numbers, we don’t talk much about mental illness, perhaps because the stigma associated with it remains strong. Many people continue to hold misconceptions about mental illness, believing wrongly that it is caused by poor character or bad parenting, or that it can be overcome through will power or not at all. The truth is that “Mental illnesses are biologically based brain disorders” that strike across boundaries of class and race, and they are highly treatable through various combinations of therapies.[ix] As one NAMI publication puts it, “Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now unwarranted sense of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is time to take these barriers down.”[x] 

Many advocates believe that communities of faith have an important role to play in overcoming the stigma associated with mental illness. Today’s bulletin insert recognizing May as Mental Health Month was prepared by an organization called Mental Health Ministries. It was founded by a Methodist minister who observes that, “Many persons with a mental health issue will go first to their clergy or faith leader. But studies show that many clergy are not effective in providing the support and referrals that individuals and their families need.”[xi] In order to get better at it, communities of faith are beginning to partner with organizations like NAMI to offer training and other resources. On Thursday I attended a NAMI training for clergy and church staff. It was perhaps a small step, but one in the right direction.

We are called as Christians to lives of love. Sometimes love is easy, but let’s face it, more often love is hard. Sometimes it’s made harder by the barriers that we house within us. As we strive to love ourselves and others better, I hope that we can continue to seek the understanding that will knock down those barriers. On the other side, we will know God.