Put Your Name On It, Jeff

Dear Jeff Bezos,

Instead of weighing your philanthropic choices on an axis of short-term versus long-term impact, why not also consider causes that have suffered the most neglect, that have the most potential to improve life for many. For those causes, the potential for both short and long term impact is high. Money, thought leadership, political and moral will can achieve even more because of that chronic neglect.

Our systems to help people who suffer from mental illnesses are broken. They have already been disrupted by decades of neglect, fear, stigma, and ignorance. It is time to discover better treatments, train more providers, nurture the thought leadership, and support those with mental illnesses and the families and friends who help take care of them.

There are a lot of people who want to help. There are not enough people who want to invest some serious money to create better outcomes for those with mental illnesses. Yet, the likelihood of creating meaningful improvements is high because the system is so broken. Look at any aspect of mental illness — homelessness, side effects from pharmaceuticals, addiction, suicide, lack of psychiatric beds in hospitals, incarceration, civil liberties, health care access, and many more, take your pick — all of them need attention and can yield improvements with focus, resources and the moral will to do this work.

There is a moral underpinning to this and it’s philanthropy at its best. Put your name on it, Jeff. It’s the right thing to do. You can have as much short and long term impact as you want. Nobody else is doing this. Use your wealth to help create better lives for those with mental illnesses. You’ll have the help and gratitude of many. That’s a good way of looking at your choice.

#CountMeInJeffI’llWorkWithYouOnImprovingMentalHealth

#Let’sAskJeff

#MentalHealthReform