Newest articles on The Sacramento Press written by Angela Wilson

Nation Of All, Nation Of Many

2009-04-21T15:45:33Z

Doesn't matter the color

We all breathe the same

We eat the same foods

We breathe in the same air

And the same blood flows through us

We are one, a nation of many

Black, green, and white

Brown, red, and yellow

We are the same

We are all the same

So come and celebrate

Celebrate this day

Of many colors

Come celebrate unity and peace

We are international one

Let's sit down and have a feast

Drink from the same cup

Let's celebrate our success

Because it takes a whole community

To save one, and we are one

Let's put our differences aside

And have a ball, this the great day

To show our strength

To show our might

International Day is alright

We've overcome struggles

We've overcome obstacles

And most of all, we've overcome the barriers

That once stopped us before

Come and celebrate, let's sit down and feast

And celebrate love and unity

To stand up for what is right

Let's stand and applaud International Day

The day of our victory, the victory over our struggles

We are one, we are strength

Let's celebrate, let's celebrate Our Independence today

because we're the nation of nations, a nation of many

Angela Wilson

Transitional Community Support

2009-04-09T11:50:13Z

The beautiful mind set of the program
Was a wonderful thing to me
A God-given program for
My state of mind
Loftiness and homeless I was
Until TLCS came by
I was welcomed to a community
Of warmth and support
Trying to live on my own
I could not afford
But TLCS gave me the support
To get back on my feet
And they reached
Out to welcome me with open arms
TLCS is a great place to be
Always having holiday parties and inviting me
I love the gatherings that we always have
Joining and pitching in and making everybody laugh
I've been through rough times
And I've been through bad times
Everytime TLCS was behind me all the way
Boy do they know how to make me have a great day
Three years ago, I almost lost my home
And was almost cast into the streets
TLCS came through like a ray of sunshine
I've been good friends with the community for years
Even friends with the big wigs of TLCS
They helped me to overcome my fears
They helped me overcome the recession
They did everything in their power
To help me keep my home
With TLCS I'm never alone
Because they gave me a warm home to live in
Thanks to TLCS
They'll always be considered my friends
They've been so loyal to me
Through darkness and depression
They helped me over come aggravation
And lead me out of oppression
That once had me bound
I reckon they're the best
In fact they are the best
Today I honor TLCS
For all their support and hard work
They paved the path to success for me
And they set my spirit free
So I give a toast to TLCS
My hat goes off to TLCS
The pathway to community and success

Growing Up with Mental Health Issues? My Relationalship with The Mental Health Workers

2009-04-09T07:44:27Z

I was a young child, at least one or two years old. I remember seeing my mother standing over me. It was a warm feeling. I grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where I had trouble with having a mental illness. For the most part, my years at home were good, until my first day of school, when my nightmare began. I saw hallucinations of cartoon characters and an image of a man called Jeramieh. He used to lie on my parents' bed. I thought that it would go away, but the older I got, the worst it got. At school, my days were dark. I constantly had to deal with cruel boys saying that I was ugly, stupid and four-eyed. I knew that something was wrong with me, but I didn't know what it was.

It wasn't until years later when I moved to Sacramento that I talked to my Aunt Dorothy about the problem. She took me to a psychiatrist and he diagnosed me with schizophrenia. I finally understood why the kids were always picking on me. But that didn't stop the stigma, because certain family members treated me like a basket case and threw me out to dry. They played mind games with me, treated me like I was stupid and eventually I ended up in the hospital. After the years of abuse from my family, I entered into a marriage that was weird and horrible. My husband started doing the same thing to me, making fun of my illness and abusing me. That went on for 16 years of my life, until I got fed up and left. I was in the Battered Women's Shelter when a nice woman came in and introduced me to Transitional Living and Community Support.

And from there I met a nice worker named Linda Jones. She helped me get into TLCS. She helped me get an apartment at the Bell Street Co-ops where I met Verna Alexander and Vera Chavez. Vera was very kind and very sweet to me and I got along with Verna and Vera. For two years I lived on Bell Street and those were the best two years of my life.

One day Lisa Tennison called me from Cardosa Village with a two-bedroom apartment for me and my daughter. I've been there for at least eight years. But I fell back into abuse once again because my husband kept going around trying to do things to get me kicked out. That soon ended when Laura Smith became the new manager. I've made a lot of friends with the mental health staff in different departments all over Sacramento, and made a lot of friends with the patients, because I'm a patient myself. My relationship with patients as well as with staff is great. I know everybody and everybody knows me.

I've come a very long way thanks to Linda Jones, Verna, Virginia, and Vera. Also Cora Richards and Al Johnson of Bell Street, who used to work at Cardosa Village, but now work at Bell Street. I love TLCS and the patients and the staff. We are one and we're going to stand as one and fight stigma and prejudice. We shall and we will overcome. With all that love and support, how can we lose? Oh I forgot one more person I'd like to thank for saving my home and she is Linda Vera's boss.

Editor's Note: The Sacramento Press editorial staff edited this article after it was published for grammar and formatting only.

They Don't Understand

2009-04-09T06:49:08Z

We are special and peculiar people

We are God's people

Some of us are big stars and celebrities

Some of us are painters, carpenters and artists

We've overcome mental stress aggravation an depression

But we still suffer the stigmatism

They don't understand, they refuse to understand

They refuse to give us a chance

Instead they'd rather say that we're crazy

loony and need to be locked up

Boxed up and cast aside

To be swept under the carpet

And to be forgotten, to be isolated

We get treated like rappers and they go hand in hand

We've overcame our fears

And the being bound for years

But they still refuse to understand

We have rights, a right to live

A right to be heard

A right to live in normal society

To live normal lives

I've made friends in the Mental Health Community

And they've proven to be intelligent, brilliant

They have extraordinary talents, and they're good at what they do

Some of us are musicians, photographers, artists and poets

We are one and we will stand up and fight as one

We shall overcome and we shall prevail

We're everywhere, in every nationality

We're in the work place and in families

We've accomplished at lot

But they don't understand, they don't care