Michael and Makena

Mental illness was never anything I knew much about. Despite being around loved ones challenged by it and working in a career field inundated with individuals experiencing mental health matters, I never thought it would impact my household.

Sadly, my ignorance and pride blinded me to the realities my adolescent daughters were living with on a daily basis. Their mother and I were clueless and/or in denial until we couldn’t avoid what seemed to be frequent social paralysis episodes and emotional breakdowns.

Fortunately, we were able to use insurance benefits for counseling services. Recognizing in our situation that living with mental illness is a journey and not a destination, we decided to take a stand and use our God-given gifts to help less fortunate young people gain access to therapy-This Way was born.

Close friends and the community teamed up with us to help spread awareness and support for mental health, leading to this video.