Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition

10/11/2026

Never Underestimate the Impact of One Person Who Refuses to Give Up

Sometimes it takes just one person.

One person who keeps making the phone calls.

One person who keeps asking questions.

One person who keeps showing up.

One person who continues searching for treatment when every door seems closed.

For someone living with a serious no fault brain disorder, that person may be a parent, spouse, sibling, friend, caregiver, caseworker, doctor, nurse, or someone else who simply refuses to stop caring.

That doesn't mean families can fix everything themselves. They can't. Serious brain disorders require appropriate professional treatment and support, and caregivers need to protect their own health and safety too.

But never underestimate what one persistent voice can accomplish.

Sometimes that person notices the warning signs everyone else missed.

Sometimes they provide information that helps a treatment team understand what is really happening.

Sometimes they make the tenth phone call after the first nine went nowhere.

Sometimes they simply remind someone who has lost hope:

“You still matter.”

There will be times when you are exhausted.

There will be times when you question whether anything you're doing is making a difference.

There may even be times when you need to step away, rest, and let someone else carry the load for a while.

That's okay.

Refusing to give up doesn't mean doing everything yourself.

It means continuing to believe that the person you love has value, dignity, and a future worth fighting for.

Sometimes change begins because one person decided:

“I will not stop caring.”

Never underestimate the impact that one person can have. 💙

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/10/2026

One Small Victory That Meant Everything

For years, our family measured life differently than most people.

We weren't waiting for a promotion, a vacation, or some major accomplishment.

We were waiting for something much simpler.

A good day.

After years of crises, hospitalizations, medication struggles, fear, and uncertainty, there came a day when we sat together and had an ordinary conversation.

Nothing dramatic happened.

No breakthrough announcement.

No promise that everything would be okay forever.

We simply talked.

And laughed.

For another family, that moment might have seemed completely unremarkable.

For us, it meant everything.

When you love someone with a serious no fault brain disorder, you learn that victories don't always look the way other people expect them to.

A victory might be taking medication consistently.

Keeping an appointment.

Getting through a week without a crisis.

Moving into stable housing.

Calling a family member.

Taking a shower.

Going outside.

Eating dinner together.

Or simply hearing your loved one laugh again.

Families who have lived through serious brain disorders understand something important:

Small victories aren't always small.

Sometimes they are evidence that treatment is helping.

Sometimes they are a reminder that the person you love is still there.

And sometimes one ordinary moment gives a family enough hope to keep going.

So today, don't overlook the small victories.

Celebrate them.

Because after you've lived through the hardest days, something the rest of the world considers ordinary can feel absolutely extraordinary. 💙

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/09/2026

What Would You Do If Your Loved One Refused Treatment Because They Genuinely Believed They Were Not Ill?

Imagine watching someone you love become increasingly ill.

You see the changes. Their thinking becomes distorted. They may hear or see things you don't. They may develop delusions, become suspicious of the people trying to help them, stop taking medication, or lose the ability to function as they once did.

You plead with them to get help.

But they tell you:

“There's nothing wrong with me.”

What if they aren't being stubborn?

What if they aren't simply making a bad choice?

What if their brain disorder has impaired their ability to recognize that they are ill?

This can happen with anosognosia, a lack of awareness of one's illness that can occur with serious brain disorders. For some people, refusing treatment isn't a reasoned decision to reject something they know they need. They may genuinely believe they are not sick.

That leaves families facing an incredibly difficult question:

How long should we be required to watch someone deteriorate before intervention becomes possible?

We should protect people's rights and dignity. But we also need laws and treatment systems capable of responding when severe illness substantially impairs a person's insight and ability to recognize their need for care.

Families should not have to wait for homelessness, incarceration, repeated hospitalization, extreme deterioration, or tragedy before meaningful help becomes available.

So we're asking you:

If someone you loved was becoming seriously ill but genuinely could not recognize it, what options do you believe families and treatment professionals should have?

Let's have a respectful conversation.

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/08/2026

Hope Is a Powerful Form of Advocacy

Advocacy often begins with frustration.

A family can't get treatment for someone they love. A person falls through the cracks. Another emergency room visit ends without enough follow-up. Someone with anosognosia deteriorates because they don't recognize that they are ill. A caregiver asks for help and feels like no one is listening.

It would be easy to become discouraged.

But hope is one of the reasons we keep fighting.

Hope says our brain health system can be better.

Hope says people with serious no fault brain disorders deserve treatment before they lose their housing, their relationships, their freedom, or their lives.

Hope says families deserve to be heard.

Hope says anosognosia can be better understood.

Hope says communities can build adequate treatment services.

Hope says lawmakers can change policies that aren't working.

And hope says that people who are extremely ill today may experience stability, connection, dignity, and a better quality of life tomorrow.

Advocacy isn't only pointing out what is wrong.

It is believing strongly enough in what could be better that you are willing to work toward it.

Every conversation matters.

Every person educated matters.

Every family that shares its experience matters.

Every letter to a legislator matters.

Every time someone stands up and says, “We can do better,” it matters.

Change rarely happens overnight. Sometimes we advocate for years before seeing progress.

But we continue because the people and families affected by serious brain disorders are worth fighting for.

Hope isn't passive.

Hope speaks.

Hope educates.

Hope advocates.

Hope refuses to accept that today's broken system must remain tomorrow's reality.

Hope is a powerful form of advocacy. 💙

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/07/2026

What Real Brain Disorder Reform Would Look Like

Real reform isn't another study, another committee, or another promise to fix the system someday.

Real reform means building a system that helps people with serious no fault brain disorders before their lives completely fall apart.

It means recognizing that some people experiencing severe psychosis or anosognosia may be unable to recognize their own need for treatment. A system that simply waits for them to voluntarily ask for help can leave families watching helplessly as someone they love becomes increasingly ill.

Real reform would mean:

• Earlier intervention instead of waiting for extreme crisis.
• Adequate hospital beds and appropriate treatment facilities.
• Strong community treatment programs, including ACT teams.
• Effective Assisted Outpatient Treatment and similar programs for people who meet legal criteria.
• Families being heard and their information taken seriously.
• Better continuity between hospitals and community providers.
• Meaningful discharge planning instead of simply providing a list of phone numbers.
• Housing and supportive services that help people maintain stability.
• Treatment before jail whenever appropriate.
• Removing unnecessary barriers that prevent people from receiving needed care.
• Support for caregivers who are often holding families together during years of crisis.

Most importantly, reform means recognizing that waiting until someone is dangerous, incarcerated, homeless, or repeatedly hospitalized is not a treatment system. It is a crisis-response system.

We can protect individual rights while also recognizing that severe brain disorders can impair insight and decision-making. Compassion should not mean abandoning someone to illness simply because their illness prevents them from recognizing that they need help.

Real reform should have a simple goal:

Get the right treatment to the right person at the right time—before tragedy becomes the reason we finally act.

We can do better.

And families across America deserve better.

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/06/2026

The Hidden Trauma of Loving Someone With a Serious Brain Disorder

There is a kind of trauma that families rarely talk about.

It comes from loving someone deeply while watching a serious no fault brain disorder change their thoughts, behavior, judgment, and sometimes their ability to recognize that they are ill.

Families may live through frightening phone calls, emergency rooms, hospitalizations, disappearances, homelessness, encounters with law enforcement, medication changes, sleepless nights, and repeated crises. They may spend years wondering:

“Is my loved one safe?”

Even when the immediate crisis ends, the fear doesn't always disappear.

A phone call in the middle of the night can bring everything rushing back. A missed appointment can trigger worry. A change in someone's voice or behavior can make a caregiver wonder whether another crisis is beginning.

Families can become exhausted from constantly watching for warning signs and preparing for what might happen next.

And yet, their trauma is often invisible.

People ask how the person with the disorder is doing—and they should.

But someone should also ask:

“How is the family doing?”

Caregivers can love someone fiercely and still be exhausted.

They can have hope and still be afraid.

They can be grateful for stability and still carry memories of the crises that came before it.

Supporting people with serious brain disorders also means recognizing the families who have stood beside them through years of uncertainty.

Their experiences matter too.

If you're a caregiver carrying wounds that other people cannot see, please remember that needing support for yourself does not mean you love your family member any less.

Families need care, compassion, and support too. 💙

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/05/2026

Questions Families Should Ask During Hospitalization

When someone you love is hospitalized because of a serious no fault brain disorder, families can feel overwhelmed. You're worried about your loved one, trying to understand what happened, and suddenly you're expected to navigate treatment plans, medications, discharge planning, and follow-up care.

Knowing what to ask can help.

Here are some important questions families may want to ask:

• What diagnosis or symptoms are being treated?
• What medications are being prescribed, and what are their potential benefits and side effects?
• How will you determine whether the treatment is working?
• What warning signs should we watch for after discharge?
• What is the plan if symptoms begin returning?
• What outpatient services will be in place before discharge?
• Does this person need intensive case management, ACT services, supportive housing, or another higher level of community support?
• Who should we call if problems develop after discharge?
• What follow-up appointments have actually been scheduled?
• What information do you need from the family about previous crises, medications, behavior, or treatment history?

Families should also ask:

“What is different now that makes discharge safe and likely to succeed?”

Discharge should be more than handing someone a list of phone numbers and hoping they make the calls. Whenever possible, there should be a realistic plan connecting the person with the treatment and support needed to maintain stability in the community.

HIPAA may limit what providers can disclose to family members in some circumstances, but it generally does not prevent families from providing information to the treatment team. Tell them what you've observed. Share previous treatment history, warning signs, medication responses, and other information that may help clinicians understand the bigger picture.

Hospitalization can stabilize a crisis.

But what happens after hospitalization may determine whether that stability lasts.

Ask questions. Share information. Understand the discharge plan.

Families shouldn't be afraid to say:

“Before our loved one leaves, please help us understand what happens next.”

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/04/2026

Treatment Can Open Doors That Once Seemed Impossible

When someone is deep in the symptoms of a serious no fault brain disorder, the future can seem very small.

Psychosis may have taken over their thinking. Relationships may have fallen apart. School or employment may have ended. Housing may be unstable. Repeated crises and hospitalizations may have become the family's new normal.

At that point, it can be difficult to imagine anything different.

But treatment can open doors.

For some people, effective treatment can mean thinking more clearly again. It can mean rebuilding relationships, returning to an old interest, living in stable housing, going back to school, working again, or simply being able to enjoy an ordinary peaceful day.

Not everyone's recovery will look the same. Some people will continue to need significant support, and progress may come slowly. There may be setbacks along the way.

But where someone is during their worst crisis does not necessarily tell us where they can be with appropriate treatment and support.

Sometimes the door that opens is a big one—a job, an apartment, a return to school.

Sometimes it's something much simpler.

A conversation with family.

A walk outside.

A good night's sleep.

A laugh.

A plan for tomorrow.

Never underestimate what stability can make possible.

Treatment can open doors that once seemed impossible.

And sometimes, behind that door, a person begins discovering a life they thought they had lost.

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/03/2026

“For Years, I Was Afraid to Hope.”

When you have lived through crisis after crisis with someone you love, hope can become frightening.

Every time things improved, I wanted to believe we had finally turned a corner. Then another crisis came. Another hospitalization. Another sleepless night. Another desperate search for help.

Eventually, I stopped allowing myself to hope too much.

I thought maybe protecting myself from disappointment would make the next crisis hurt less.

It didn't.

Then, slowly, things began to change.

Treatment became more consistent. There were fewer crises. Days became weeks, and weeks became months. Conversations weren't always about illness anymore. I started hearing laughter again. I began seeing pieces of the person I loved that I thought might be gone forever.

Nothing became perfect.

There were still difficult days. I still worried when the phone rang unexpectedly. I still watched for warning signs. Years of crisis don't simply disappear from a caregiver's mind because things are going well today.

But I learned something:

Hope doesn't require a guarantee.

I don't know exactly what tomorrow will bring.

None of us do.

But today, the person I love is doing better.

Today, we can have a conversation.

Today, we can laugh.

Today, we can make plans.

And after years of measuring life from one crisis to the next, I have finally allowed myself to believe that there can be more to our future than simply surviving.

If you're a family still in the middle of the storm, I can't promise you what your journey will look like.

But I can tell you this:

Don't assume today's crisis gets to decide the rest of your story.

Sometimes hope disappears for a while.

And sometimes, when you least expect it, hope finds its way back. 💙

Serious no fault brain disorders are not a choice.
Share to spread awareness.

Presented by the Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
🌐 brettstaples.org
📧 [email protected]

10/02/2026

WHEN SOMEONE NEEDS PSYCHIATRIC CARE, A FUNDING BARRIER SHOULD NOT STAND IN THE WAY.

For families facing serious no-fault brain disorders, access to appropriate treatment can mean the difference between stabilization and another devastating crisis. The bipartisan IMD CARE Act, introduced by Congressman Cliff Bentz (Republican–Oregon) and Congressman Dan Goldman (Democrat–New York) on October 1, 2026, would give states another way to obtain federal Medicaid funding for treatment in qualifying psychiatric facilities. We thank them for working together to address this critical need. (bentz.house.gov⁠)

Under this proposal, participating states could receive federal Medicaid funding for up to 30 days of treatment during a 12-month period for eligible adults ages 21 through 64. This would address part of the IMD exclusion’s funding barrier. It would not completely end the exclusion, and 30 days may not meet every person’s needs—but opening another path to treatment is meaningful progress.

The bill also recognizes that recovery requires support beyond a hospital stay. Participating states would have to maintain state and local funding for community services at least at fiscal year 2023 levels, including ACT teams, crisis services, medication services, and supportive housing. It also requires discharge planning, connections to community providers, and attention to housing needs. Access to hospital care and strong community support belong together.

Please write to your U.S. representative and both U.S. senators and ask them to support the IMD CARE Act. Ask your representative to cosponsor the House bill and help advance it, and ask your senators to support moving this reform forward in the Senate. Tell them why access to psychiatric treatment matters to your family and community. Your message can be simple: “Please support the IMD CARE Act introduced by Representatives Cliff Bentz and Dan Goldman. People with serious no-fault brain disorders need access to appropriate treatment and continued community support. Our families cannot afford more delays.”

Our loved ones deserve care, dignity, and a real chance at recovery.
Serious no-fault brain disorders are not a moral failure.

Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition
📧 [email protected]
🌐 brettstaples.org

Brett M. Staples Brain Disorder Awareness Coalition - educating the public and supporting families affected by brain disorders to foster understanding and systemic change.