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Mental Illness was Funny
To the Editors:
As everyone in the free world now knows, we held a Mental Health Comedy Night on Wednesday May 30th, and in my opinion, the event was a success.
I had my reservations about whether there was anything funny about mental illness when I signed on to this project, but I was pleasantly surprised by the work of all the comedians and even yours truly was able to squeeze a few laughs from the audience with my monologue.
The musical acts were also good. The prizes were great. The food was excellent.
I think that the City Voices organizers did a fine job putting the event together and that Project US was extremely skillful at making the event a reality. Special thanks should go out to Dan, Robin and A. Victoria of City Voices and Terry and Deniene and Steve of Project US for all their work and to Grace and the Postgraduate Center for having the vision to permit such and event to be held at the center.
I look forward to the next event—and the next. We should keep on holding these events until we’re all rich and famous.
Craig R. Bayer
Manhattan, New York

Problems with Timothy’s Law
To the Editors:
You may recall my concern that individual or direct pay policies are not covered under Timothy’s Law. I do wonder if Tom O’claire intended for the bill to discriminate against individual payees in this way? Granted a quantity premium of $900.00 and dollars is high for “price sensitive” individuals. However – we’re paying for these medications that our young people require - and we do need help to pay for the hospital costs and counselors’ fees, etc. We need benefits!
Please consider my concern and offer suggestions for further contacts that might “turn the tide” for those individual payees in the same situation as ourselves…there [may] be a discrepancy between large group and small group coverage that isn’t fair.
Anne Glazier
Penn Yan, New York

Timothy’s Law Inadequate
To the Editors:
Individual or direct pay policies are not covered under Timothy’s Law. I do wonder if Tom O’Claire intended for the bill to discriminate against individual payees in this way? Granted a quantity premium of $900.00 is high for “price sensitive” individuals, however we are paying for these medications that our young people require. We need help to pay for the hospital costs and counselors’ fees, etc. We need benefits! Please consider my concern and offer suggestions for further contacts that might “turn the tide” for those individual payees in the same situation as ourselves.
Anne Glazier
Upstate New York
Abuse and Mental Illness
To the Editors:
After reading your article on the NYC Voices spring'07, it made sense to me what happened when I was a child. I was sexually abused by my brother once and by my mother varies times when I was still a toddler. I was emotionally and physically abused by my mother and my two-year-old sister. My memory of fun was playing with my father, which did not last long because my mother and father separated. They were not even married. At that time they ask me to choose between my mother and my sister or my father who my mother called a drunk. What I didn't understand at that time was my father pacing in the background without fighting for me. Well, I chose my mother and sister.
I was so afraid of my mother. Living with them was like being in hell. We moved to Puerto Rico where the abuse continued, even money was borrowed and never repaid. I remember my mother and sister criticizing and hitting me all day. It lasted 22 years. I moved out on my own. I felt like a weight was lifted from my chest. I had no one to talk to until I was in my twenties then I started to see a psychologist after a break-up with a friend. I guess I wasn't resilient enough to get passed it and be medication-free. I severed my ties with all my relatives in 2003. Now I'm making decisions and feel like a grown up. I can't wait for part II, the article in the summer '07 issue.
Rosa Rodriguez
Via the Internet

Waiting for Disaster
To the Editors:
[The hospital told] my boyfriend (a MICA patient) and my friend's friend (just heard about this one yesterday, she is also a MICA patient) that they cannot make an appointment until September and are offering no other alternative on the phone. So these drug/alcohol dependent people with mental illness would have to wait four months until they are seen, so four more months of shooting up? Four more months of drinking themselves to death and then they can get help? I want to know what can be done about this and who I can yell at. I called the National Alliance on Mental Illness and they gave me numbers to call for help. I called the hospital to complain. What they are doing is “dangerous” and “neglectful.” Sending them to the ER for emergencies will just let them be inpatients [and that is] what most MICA people fear the most. Fools.
HB
Via the Internet