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This hits hard. My husband of 23 years has a serious mental health diagnosis. There were years when he was not with us (me and our daughter) due to severe symptoms that led to his spending several years homeless and meandering through our horrible mental health system. It is an absolute miracle that we are together today, and he is doing so much better. The same system that failed him ironically played an important role in saving him. Sadly, our success story is all too rare. I don't know what the answers are, but it seems to me that advocacy is a huge part of it. I try to do my small part by sharing our story and helping to diminish stigma.

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As I told Scott Martin, in a reply below, Sonny Iovino was 55 when he died in 2007. As the piece says, he was born in 1952. He was indeed a veteran of the Vietnam War.

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There are no veterans of the Vietnam War 55 years old.

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Jan 4, 2023Liked by Michael Judge

Thanks for continuing to advocate for people who are too sick to advocate for themselves.

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Jan 4, 2023Liked by Michael Judge

Thanks for sharing this Michael. Just FYI, we have been working since 2018, when we improved Iowa’s commitment law some more to allow for AOT in Iowa to be more functional, to start Iowa’s first AOT program in conjunction with Iowa’s first Civil Mental Health Court, here in Johnson County. It will be started in 2023. It has taken a lot of work to build of team of provider & community stakeholders and to get the funding, but we are thrilled to have this get started soon!

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