Helping children cope

Advocates lobby today to improve mental health initiatives for kids

BOSTON. When her son became depressed in high school, Karen McGravey-Gajera was concerned. When he dropped out and began to withdraw, her worries increased.

When he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 19, she scrambled to find help.

“I died that day, seeing the kid that used to skip to school turn into somebody that just sits in his room staring at the corner,” she said.

McGravey-Gajera works with the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts (NAMI), which will lobby today at the State House in support of “The Children’s Mental Health Bill,” to promote early screenings and to streamline agency response, according to Sen. Steven Tolman.

“There are more than 100,000 children living in the Commonwealth that do not receive the mental health treatments they need,” said Tolman.

According to a NAMI report released today, 11 percent of those aged 9-19 in the state face a mental illness or emotional problems.

Karen McGravey-Gajera’s granddaughter has bipolar disorder.

“I want her to be able to graduate high school, and I want her [family] to be encompassed in the whole thing,” she said. “But things have to change.”

NAMI’s walk to raise money for mentally ill children is May 31. Visit www.nami.org for more information.