Having just returned from the African American Smithsonian Institute, I got to see the Pullman Porter uniform of my maternal grandfather. That was on my bucket list. Along the way I saw an article about a Unitarian pastor, James Reeb, a white pastor who risked all to support Dr Martin Luther King in his second march to Selma. Many pastors had promised to join in this march, but many didn’t show up.

What invitations are we facing in our lives today? Are there moral issues that we are struggling with today? How does that toggle impact our mental and physical health?

Barbara Wilson is a long-time practitioner and advocate for mental health care. She is a subject-matter expert on mental health policy and programs. Her career spans the transformation of public mental health policy from state hospitals to community-based care and what that has meant to people affected with mental illness, their families, law-enforcement and society at large.

Ms Wilson has authored a book, The Mental Health Handbook: Understanding California’s Mental Health System available on Amazon and BookBaby. She is also the founder of a not-for-profit organization, Mental Health Hook-Up, which serves people whose lives have been impacted by mental health issues. It is a mental health social services organization which often serves as a 1 Stop Shop to people seeking resources, therapy, and continuity of care.

Ms Wilson has a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Nebraska Lincoln and is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of California. Additionally, she is a credentialed member in good standing with the National Association of Disability Representatives.