Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Charity is The Gift That Gives Twice But Not To The Mentally Afflicted

Almost 50% of Social Security Disability payments are to those suffering from mental health conditions or organic brain disorders. Just 150 years ago people with such maladies were in the west, despite many a Christian nation (enforced by the State), mistreated, starved and murdered.

History indicates that many religions were and are slow to come out of the dark ages regarding mental health conditions or organic brain disorders.

Things have dramatically improved but Christian good will and charity has not managed to correct this disconnect. Most health and disability insurance either excludes such maladies from coverage or drastically limit the coverage and many still find themselves excluded from support from religious based communities and from many community services.

This is one of the reasons good old human charity sometimes lags behind scientifically based pragmatism. Until the gap is breached, that perfect world has just not materialized where charity is extended in a uniform, comprehensive and all encompassing way to this population.

Not to despair. Let's all keep working on it.

In the meantime, to reduce the expense and lighten the burden of those most affected by such problems, we need to maintain if not extend our very minimal social and mutually beneficial protective net--it does not just benefit the afflicted but us, by ameliorating the harm that those so afflicted can cause themselves and others when unable to access health care.

Loren M. Lambert © July 12, 2012

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