Roomin' House Blues

My life has been touched by the suffering of the mentally ill.  My mother suffered severe mental illness and was committed to Western State Hospital in Washington State.  A coma induced by insulin shock treatment caused some permanent brain damage, yet the depression lessened over the years.  She is still alive in a nursing home. My paternal Grandmother suffered from bipolar disorder (before it was given that name) and kept going off her medications. Sadly, she committed suicide rather than continue in a depressed state. I had read some of the works of R.D Laing, especially "Insanity, Madness, and the Family" who was an advocate of using the small group home, the trusting carrying community, as a form of treatment for mental illness.  I had often dreamed of someday being a part of a community dedicated to this. When  I returned to the Seattle area after many years in California, seeking a return to the church I had left when I was...