Pat Wandling: Mental health, a national crisis and family heartbreak

It was a horrific tragedy on the train tracks running through Bristol – one that changed the lives of three families and shocked a community. A father and his son were struck down by a high-speed train last month while trying to save the life of another son and brother.   

The Bucks County coroner declared the death of the father Christopher Cramp, 56, and his son David, 31, accidental, while the death of Thomas, 24, was ruled a suicide. It was a stunning and disastrous life-ending event for a family already in crisis.

For the Cramp family, their fateful action on April 3 was not likely the first intervention with a distressed family member, nor was it the first time someone in a mental crisis chose to end their life on the Lower Bucks train tracks. 

It brought forward the issue of mental health, which the federal Centers for Disease Control, has called a  “national crisis,” affecting people of all ages, particularly youth. We know mental health is more than “feeling good”; it’s defined as a state of well-being that enables us to cope with the stresses of life, to learn and work, realize our potential and more. CDC, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supports a public approach as a way to positively impact mental health. And you can find out what it all means on the CDC website. 

Closer to home, the news of the recent tragedy in Bristol certainly drew our attention to mental health and mental illness as well as to the existing organizations that provide  caring, local support — the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Bucks County (NAMI) and the Bucks County District Attorney’s office and courts.     

More often, mental illness is a struggle behind closed doors. Always the unspoken — the stigma wrongfully associated with mental illness — stops individuals and families from reaching out. However, there are organizations working to overcome the hindrances to seeking help nationwide and in Bucks County.     

Bucks NAMI, one of more than 900 affiliates of the national organization, is actively involved day-to-day. Located in Warrington, NAMI has been providing support, education, and advocacy for those facing mental health challenges since 1983. It began as a grassroots group — a few families — who saw a critical need for awareness and support. The original group expanded and later evolved into a NAMI affiliate that has lived up to its original motto:  “You are not alone.”  

The parent group reports one in five adults and one in six youths, ages six to seventeen, experience a mental illness each year. And on average, there’s an eleven-year gap between when symptoms first appear and when care is given. The need is indisputable. 

And nearly 40 percent of Americans still see mental-health issues as less serious than physical conditions, while 30-40 percent citecost as a major obstacle to treatment.    

We can agree that until a personal or public event occurs, whether a suicide or an encounter with police, the light barely shines on the challenge of mental illness. Nor does the public realize the dire, ongoing need for professional, community and government support for what has been deemed a national crisis.    

We also are aware some suffering individuals in mental distress have a first encounter with law enforcement. Some have faced arrest and even jail, which is why Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said she is proud of the work being done here in Bucks to prevent such outcomes, citing diversionary programs and the Wellness Court, formerly known as the Mental Health Court. 

The Wellness Court was developed as a partnership between the mental-health and criminal-justice systems and comprised of the offices of the district attorney, courts, probation, sheriff, and advocate council, as well as behavioral health developmental programs.

According to Schorn, who is up for election this year, this strong partnership addresses the needs of individuals with serious mental illness diagnoses while contributing to reducing rates of recidivism, improving public safety, and aiding the participants’ quality of life through established mandatory comprehensive, community-based treatment services within the  Wellness Court guidelines.

Among Schorn’s stated goals of maintaining a safe county and protecting the vulnerable —  children and the disabled — is a firm commitment to the Wellness Court system. With an emphasis on mental illness encounters, she cites the specialized training provided to every Bucks County police officer and first responder, and a number of dedicated attorneys, “tasked with running the court programs that serve those who have committed a crime borne out of  mental illness.”  

For more information visit: https://buckscountygov/1658/Wellness-Court and namibuckspa.org.

Pat Wandling hosts “Speak Your Piece” weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.