The ELLA Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to offering education, support and advocacy to individuals and families affected by violence, will launch a new, ongoing community discussion series in Savannah, Ga., focusing upon the impact of mental illness. All events are open to the public.
 
Charity Lee, the founder and Executive Director of The ELLA Foundation, will moderate and host the new series about mental illness, which affects one in five Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
 
Lee’s life has been tragically defined by violence as well as mental illness. On February 4, 2007, Lee’s 13-year-old son, Paris, murdered her four-year-old daughter, Ella, in Abilene, Texas. Lee lost both of her children -- one to violence and another to a 40-year prison sentence. She formed The ELLA Foundation in an effort to help those affected by acts of violence, including victims, offenders and their families.
 
"For the past 11 years, I've been focused on criminal justice reform and victim advocacy,” Lee says. “The underlying issues which lead to a breakdown in human functioning need to be addressed; issues such as mental illness, poverty, racism, and lack of equal opportunity. I decided to focus on mental illness first and to get a conversation going, so people can talk openly about these things."
 
On Thursday, September 27 at 6 p.m., the discussion series will officially kick off with “Let’s Talk Mental Illness: Myths, Truths and Realities” at Hospice Savannah’s Demere Center for Living, located at 6000 Business Center Dr., just off Chatham Parkway. The event will serve as an introduction to the series and is designed to educate and inform attendees about the complexities of mental illness.
 
The public is invited to join Lee, who will serve as the moderator, and a panel of local experts, including Dr. Anne Carpenter of Psychiatry of Georgia; Betsy Kammerud, LCSW of Hospice Savannah; retired psychologist Dr. Cindy Midcalf; and Everett Tolbert, LPC of E. Tolbert Counseling & Consulting. The event will include a discussion, question-and-answer-session and resource fair highlighting local agencies, nonprofits and medical providers dedicated to serving individuals affected by mental illness. A $10 donation is suggested.
 
The second event in the series, “Let’s Talk Family Trauma,” will take place on Thursday, October 25 at 6 p.m. at the Jewish Education Alliance, located at 5111 Abercorn St. in Savannah. The event will include the first local screening of the documentary The Family I Had, which explores Charity Lee’s tragic loss of her daughter Ella as well as her relationship with her now-incarcerated son. After the screening of the documentary, which originally premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, a moderated discussion with Charity Lee about family trauma will take place. A $15 donation is suggested.
 
The remaining discussions, which will take place in 2019, cover a wide range of issues. Dates and topics are as follows:
 
·       January 24, 2019: Mental Illness & Childhood Trauma

·       March 28, 2019: Mental Illness & Faith

·       May 23, 2019: Mental Illness & the Minority Community

·       June 27, 2019: Mental Illness & the LGBT+ Community
 
Mental illness affects the lives and families of millions of Americans, especially children, victims of violence, and convicted criminals. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 20 percent of state prisoners and 21 percent of local jail prisoners have a recent history of a mental health condition. According to the National Center for Juvenile Justice and Mental Health, 70 percent of youth in juvenile justice systems have at least one mental health condition, and at least 20 percent live with a serious mental illness.
 
Lee, a certified Crisis Interventionist, Anger Management specialist, Theft Addiction specialist, and Seeking Safety facilitator, has traveled to Africa and all across the United States and Canada to share her journey from victim to activist and advocate. She moved to Savannah, Ga. in 2016 and dedicates her time to The ELLA Foundation -- which stands for Empathy, Love, Lessons and Action -- and to facilitating positive change.
 
“The objective of The ELLA Foundation,” Lee explains, “is to empower people affected by violence to become effective advocates for good in their own lives and advocates for change in their communities.”