Rosalyn Carter was not only the First Lady of Georgia and the United States, she was also a huge mental health advocate.
She shared a story of a relative who had mental illness and he scared her because he would run down the street yelling.
She would later share he probably just wanted friendship. He was different and back in those days I’m sure the stigma attributed to lack of knowledge and made her hide.
While campaigning with her husband she was asked by many family members of those with mental illnesses what her husband would do. One time at a rally she got in line with everyone else and when her husband saw her, he asked, “What are you doing here?” She asked what are you going to do about mental health when you are governor?
In the White House, Carter’s top priority was mental health.
While she was in Georgia, she encouraged Governor Carter to start a commission because she saw the lack of help for the people with mental illnesses, especially children, at the community level.
She has had a huge impact on the mental health care system. She modernized mental health care.
Early on, she was an advocate for reducing stigma. She often said, ” Mental health care is a basic human right.”
President Carter signed the Mental Health Systems Act in 1980 , that provided grants for community mental health clinics. A lot of this can be attributed to Rosalyn Carter.
Thanks for all you did to help the mentally ill, Former First Lady Rosalyn Carter.
Born August 18.1927
DIed November 19, 2023
Age 96