Event draws attention to mental health issues
May 22—LIMA — Linda Scott, founder of Ella B's home for women, along with Derry Glenn, 6th Ward Lima Councilor, organized an event Saturday at Kibby Corners Park to call attention to the mental health services that are available in the Lima community.
"May is Mental Health Month and this is my first annual walk for Ella B's. I plan to do this every year. I just wanted to show how important and how mental health needs to be supported," Scott said.
Scott has operated Ella B's to help homeless people with mental health issues.
"Right now I have a women's house. I plan to help start another house in town for men," Scott said.
Scott says it's important to recognize mental illness as an illness.
"A lot of people don't understand. It's a thought process and some are controlled by medication, some by therapy, it depends but it's very important because I believe that all of us, everyone, goes through some type of depression or anxiety or something like that," she said.
"Some people know how to handle it better than others," Scott said. "It's very good for us to be able to realize and know that mental health is real and it's out here and everybody doesn't understand it. So it's good to be able to understand someone when they go on to something when they're not feeling their best, when they might be on a medication or whatever it is.
"It's very important to note that we are still humans and everybody has feelings and we still should be able to be here to support each other and know that we all from God," she said.
Councilman Glenn, who retired from working in the Ohio prison system, now works for Coleman Professional Services as an outreach coordinator.
"We go out into the community and talk to everybody," Glenn said. "We try to reach out to people that need help. That's my job. I go door to door. I'm here to help you in the process of paperwork, being homeless, no job, you know, numerous things.
"I give them the connection where they need to go to. If they need doctors, I work on getting them the mental health doctors, set them up with a caseworker, we do a lot just to try to help people out."
Reach Sam Shriver at 567-242-0409.
