National statistics indicate that one in four Canby residents, or approxiimately 3,944, will experience a mental health disorder of some kind over the next year and that roughly 928 of Canby’s roughly 16,000 residents have a seriously debilitating mental illness. The National Alliance of Mental Illness of Clackamas County is trying to help break down barriers and stigmas that are associated with mental illness.
Putting an accurate face on the struggles of mental illness is hard — for many reasons. According to Michele Veenker, director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Clackamas County, the stereotype of mental illness needs to be re-examined — by the public and those afflicted with it.
