Read notable quotes below from Rosalynn Carter's 50 years of mental health leadership.
“For people in all walks of life, insurance coverage is a major barrier to getting care – if they’re lucky enough to have coverage in the first place. Millions of people in the United States do not have coverage. These are people who are working hard, but do not earn enough to be able to buy health insurance on the private market. Or their insurance may provide only limited benefits for mental health problems.” -Rosalynn Carter
Within Our Reach
We know so much more [about behavioral health disorders] today, and yet the problems are still very much the same, with one exception: recovery. Twenty-five years ago, we did not dream that people might someday be able actually to recover from mental illnesses. Today it is a very real possibility... For one who has worked on mental health issues as long as I have, this is a miraculous development and an answer to my prayers.Rosalynn Carter
Nineteenth Annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy
Nov. 5-6, 2003
The Commissioners were honored to host a meeting with Mrs. Carter whose remarks provided an important link with the previous, groundbreaking Carter Presidential Commission on Mental Health, and underscored the urgency of advancing parity and the concept of recovery in mental health - all of which were included in the final report.Larke Huang, Ph.D.
Member, President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
Member, Carter Center Mental Health Task Force
Now as I campaigned [for Jimmy for Governor], I was approached almost daily by family members distressed about loved ones at our Central State Hospital. Over and over the questions came about what my husband would do to address their terrible problems….Then one day, an incident set me on a course that would become a lifelong crusade for me. At 4:30 in the morning, I stood at the entrance to a cotton mill in Atlanta, waiting for people to get off work. I saw an older woman emerge, all alone....She told me she had a daughter who was mentally ill and that she and her husband struggled to make ends meet in order to care for her. 'I work at night while he stays with her, and he works during the day when I'm at home,' she said. The image of the woman haunted me all day…I’d been worrying about those in institutions and their families, but how many others were struggling to care for a loved one at home, without access to any professionals at all? The scope of the problem overwhelmed me.~Rosalynn Carter
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