Dear Editor,

The new year is a time when we look forward to a brighter future and give thanks for overcoming the challenges of the past year.

As a mentally ill person for over 20 years I have seen and experienced many acts of prejudice, discrimination, and abuse towards us as a community. There was a time in my mental illness journey when I was convinced that the society as a whole had no care or regard for the community of the mentally ill.

However, since the novel coronavirus pandemic I have seen a significant change for the better and I no longer hold that view. Today I can easily identify with our society, which has been showing respect and care for the community of the mentally ill despite remnants of the stigma, prejudice, discrimination, and abuse that have accompanied mental illness for over 4,000 years.

As someone who spearheads a lot of work within the community of the mentally ill in the parishes of Clarendon, Manchester, and St Elizabeth as well as helping to raise awareness nationally through advocacy initiatives, I want to thank everyone who stood up for the mentally ill in 2022.

Many thanks to the Jamaica Observer for helping to educate the population about mental health and giving mentally ill people like myself a voice to ” right” our own stories and history. I appreciate the role the media has played in raising awareness around mental illness, and your newspaper has been a bastion of support, which has resulted in the creation of a beacon of hope.

Many thanks to the service clubs, private citizens, and citizens’ associations which have taken the time to render support with care packages and other tangible assistance.

On behalf of the community of the mentally ill I want to thank all the benefactors and people of goodwill. Your love and generosity has helped to make life and living more comfortable for all of us who have suffered the attendant pitfalls of stigma, prejudice, and discrimination. Let us continue to work together and make 2023 stigma free for the community of the mentally ill.

The word is always love.

Andre A O Wellington

Mental health patient and advocate

andrewellington344@yahoo.com