 The statistics are overwhelming: An estimated one in four American adults (about 26 percent) suffers from a mental illness. Major depression affects nearly 15 million American adults, bipolar disorder nearly 6 million, and roughly 1.1 percent of the population suffers from schizophrenia. While each illness is treatable, there are currently no cures. We spoke with Shari Staglin, venture philanthropist, fundraiser for research into cures for depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, vintner and mother of a schizophrenic son to understand her mission and to find out how a music festival might change the face of mental illness. The Biggest Surprise We first asked Shari to tell us about how she and her husband were inspired to become leading benefactors in psychiatric disorder research, and the biggest surprise she has found about mental illness -- whether it's in regard to people's perceptions, prevalence or research -- over the years: "We were inspired because our son was sick with schizophrenia. We were always invited to fundraisers for opera, symphony ... we said, why aren't people putting money into mental health research? Funding research instead of treatment. We felt that was best for our son and for future generations. The biggest surprise to me was that we had so little knowledge of what schizophrenia really is, and that it is physical. The basis of his illness is physical, it's genetic, it's usually hereditary and it also has environmental triggers. It's not how you were treated or raised. There are many different possibilities, and for sure, stress is one of them. Now that we know about it, we know what the signs and symptoms are -- but we didn't know what to look for. It's still a big surprise that people don't know that it's a physical condition. We always had hope. We always believed he would get better." |
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