New term and New Horizons...

All the form filling and bureaucracy got to him. He' s on incapacity and would have to pay for his course -  £360 we just don't have that kind of money. It seems this year college courses all have to be paid for. He wanted to do counselling to help other people like himself - another £200, and short story writing - £360. That's £560 on his benefits we didn't know where to get the money from, the college wanted a lump sum. My son doesn't even have a bank account because he spends all his money on his collections and passions (part of his condition) and then travelling to see his girlfriend. So we filled in some forms for local charities and it's fingers crossed whether he goes to college.

He is 25 and has had bad experiences of trying to fit into education so we really need this to work this time. He is stressed about the government trying to force him off benefits and into work. He is desperate for qualifications but frustrated by a system that's not designed for him. Its all stressful, and my son is getting more and more hard to talk to about it rationally.

To be honest, why isnt education free for everyone? We're having a hard enough time as it is. It's like this government New Horizon thing aimed at finding out how to best help the mentally ill. It includes a section on how best to save the government some money when developing services. Try not wasting it on Bankers me thinks. What would improve things? Not using a consultation as a starting point for cuts, that's for sure. Invest in people's futures - it doesn't matter what you do, there will be the same outcome, some big business ripping you off or bullying people into work, causing more illness.

So invest in people - make services people want like, free education and guaranteed jobs in real businesses. Give people more opportunity, more carrots less sticks and a right to a be a valued member of society. Treat people as if you would your brother or sister, mum or dad. In short, value people, don't treat them as burdens, axe murderers or scroungers. As for stigma, we need proper laws with legal aid systems that work, not based on your ability to get the lawyer paid. Making savings is not something you should be looking at doing if you are serious about helping, you should invest in people's futures.

The Government's attitude to Mental Health was clearly seen from its attempts to bring in Community Treatment Orders through the draft mental health bill that got thrown out. Only then to bring them in anyway, by modifying the 1983 bill. At that stage the government its self created a lot of stigma surriounding mental health by not listening to what professionals and survivors were saying. They pandered to the public misconception that we all are axe murderers. Why ban people who suffer from mental illness from serving as MP's? Get your own House in order. People are human beings not monsters or oddities to be feared.

As for me, I have some good news: a short story of mine was short listed at the Everyman and I'm getting my 5 minutes of  fame. I get to read at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. It was a short piece written from the view of a schizophrenic as an example of psychosis and what it is really like. It is based on my latest section in a Mental Hospital and the experience itself is from the inside of an episode. I'm looking forward to seeing the audience's reaction, although I'm also a little worried that I have laid everything in my soul bare. I dont want to be left feeling exposed and hope it is taken well.

Ebony