A few months late, but I wanted to touch base and update for everyone who so generously supported my petition five years ago when I decided I needed a positive legacy for my son Bryan.

I did a career pivot to travel health care and saved enough to get the ball rolling finally . I was able to purchase two properties with the help of my son Matt, who had his hands full as a builder and real estate investor. 

The next hurdles are renovations and reaching back out to the accreditation agency for sober living housing in Michigan. I talked to them in the beginning so I had an idea of what the process involves.

The other big piece, of course, is the legislation. I will be home in Michigan for the next couple years attending school, so I will be working on petitions to get Bryan’s Law on the ballot finally.

I’m not asking for more tax dollars. I am asking that the current budget be adjusted so peer support services are an option for more people. 

Right now, one of the most common trainings is ‘Mental Health First Aid’. It is not trauma informed, or person centered. It makes the people taking the class feel better about coming into contact with people experiencing mental health issues.

We don’t need more arm chair diagnosing, or more effort to coerce us into unwanted interventions or services. If mental health first aid was effective, we would not see unalive rates continue to climb while more and more funding is channeled into the program. 

Mental Health First Aid was developed by a psych nurse. Ironically, now my career goal is Mental Health Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, and my personal goal is to see peer services have the same respect and funding these pseudo interventions have enjoyed for too long.