‘Back In Balance’’

From Street Life To Helping Others Gain Mental Health

It’s common to see untreated mentally ill people wandering in neighborhoods where homeless congregate and camp. With a crisis on display, it’s hard to imagine the lifetime that preceded it. Or a way out of their misery.

I’m grateful to share Steven Seeley’s story of hope and recovery after years of mental illness. Steven, 56, was one of eight children raised by his mother and stepfather in Los Angeles. arrested and placed in Sacramento County Jail.

“Since a young teen, I’ve always had incidents with my mental health. I didn’t exactly know what it was at the time,” he says. “I’d drift off and I go to different places and not know what I was doing there. I also heard voices, and the delusions made me feel unstable, crazy and scared.

Steven attended college in Louisiana but never graduated. He fell in love and was married for three years, but his mental health problems became more than the marriage and fatherhood could handle. Work, relationships, parenting overwhelmed him. “I was such a handful, even for those who loved me,” he says.

“Gratefully, the law enforcement officer that arrested me was kind enough to return to the jail and to make a suggestion that I could benefit from mental health services,” Steven says. “And at that moment, and with God’s grace, I was receptive.”

CBy Cecily Hastings Publisher’s Desk

H“I was quickly drawn to a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol for what I learned later was self-medication. So, in my own mind, I blamed it all on living the rough life, and not necessarily my mental health issues. My mother tried her best, suggesting mental health treatment over the years, but sadly it wasn’t enough to get me to do it.”

The rough life pulled him back. He moved to Fresno, where his mother lived. The voices and delusions continued. He went from job to job, mostly in warehouses or making deliveries, and found his way to Sacramento.

In 2018, Steven, in the midst of a psychotic episode, broke into the Governor’s Mansion. First Lady Anne Gust Brown was home at the time, but didn’t encounter Seeley. He was

Mental health court referred him to New Direction, a program of Hope Cooperative.

Steven tells me his journey was not a straight line. He considered giving up many times. Being homeless, he was disconnected from natural supports. His personal service coordinator became an important figure. “I bonded with my coordinator and when he left his position, I had a setback. But I never lost hope.”