May has been dubbed mental health awareness month in the hopes of calling attention to an illness that is thought to affect at least one in five American adults. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) believes since the pandemic, that figure could have doubled. Only a fraction will get help.
All too often mental illness goes undiagnosed.
Robert David Fenstersheib believes that was case with his brother, Michael, who also suffered from drug addiction.
"He never seemed like he would hurt anyone, and here we are today," Robert David says.
Last September, Michael took his own life and their father's, high profile South Florida attorney Robert Fenstersheib.
Robert David remembers, because of COVID, "The isolation was intensified, and I think that helped speed up something that may have been inevitable."
Months later, he realizes signs of crisis are easy to look past. "Looking back you realize that there's a system of habits that are unhealthy that they fall into, a routine, and you just wish you could have done something more."
Through the Tell Robert Foundation, Robert David hopes to raise awareness and money for local mental health and drug addiction organizations.
"What we plan on doing is taking the influence we have in this community and driving awareness to local communities and organizations more adept at helping those in need, as well as trying to break the stigma that it's okay to seek help," he says.
He stresses, "It's not a one-time fix. It's not a quick fix. It's a work in progress, and it takes work, it takes effort daily to get yourself in the right headspace."
The Tell Robert Foundation has already held a virtual 5K, and Stephanie Fenstersheib says they anticipate holding back to school drives to address mental illness in our youth.