In February 2021, 42.2% of adults in Iowa reported symptoms of anxiety or depression. 25.4% were unable to get needed counseling or therapy.

https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-Media/StateFactSheets/IowaStateFactSheet.pdf

For the last two years, I have taught freshman composition courses at Iowa Wesleyan University. During this time, I have noticed more and more males who struggle to attend class, who feel uncomfortable speaking and connecting with their classmates, who have shared stories of life trauma, and who visibly appear uneasy. I’ve been teaching for forty-three years now, and I have had all kinds of students. Once I had a student who made me feel uncomfortable, and a few years later after graduating from high school, he brutally murdered his mother because he wanted money for drugs and was suffering from some kind of drug episode due to taking synthetic drugs. As a writing instructor, I have had incredible insights into my students’ lives. I’m digressing a bit, but I’m wanting to establish that I do see a significant change with my male students.

This change highlights an urgent need our society must face, and that is we need mental health facilities. Iowa closed mental health facilities years ago. We used to have a psych ward at our own local hospital. One time my son had an episode and when I took him to the ER rather than giving him the mental health counseling he needed, the doctor said, “Don’t do drugs.” Really! Brilliant! Iowa now wants to establish clinics where women can go to get talked out of having an abortion. Wouldn’t mental health counseling and facilities be more important? I’m continually and increasingly alarmed by my state government officials.

One of Iowa’s biggest problems is drug abuse. Heroine, fentanyl, and meth are corrosive, mind-altering drugs that are at the forefront of this problem. One of my good friend’s son has been able to turn his life around, but that’s due to drug court and counseling. He has bipolar problems and became an addict. Self-medicating through drugs and alcohol is a common behavior I’ve observed throughout my lifetime. It’s understandable, but our Iowa prisons and jails are full of addicts which really brings me to the overall point I want to make today: if we do not provide substantial mental health facilities for people, the drug problem is not going to be solved. I understand the need to protect people, and I’m not saying we should get rid of law enforcement, but is locking someone up a cure?

I’ve been working on a sijo to highlight this problem through poetry. Okay, writing poetry will perhaps not solve the problem either, but it’s a way for me to articulate my personal angst. Thanks for listening to my vent:)

Clanging doors slam behind me;
an icy chill steals my senses.
I'm ashamed, lost, addicted;
voices screaming, spook my demons.
Can I heal or survive a life
trapped inside, no hope in sight.