The city with a radical approach to mental illness


Normalizing mental health care helps create inclusive communities. In Geel, in Belgium, centuries of pilgrims seeking the blessing of Dymphna, the city’s patron saint of mental illness, have created a culture of community mental health care. Families provide a system of ongoing care by taking in boarders.The state supports the family-care system by offering small stipends and also by providing for clinics, schools, and other institutions.

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