Local/Regional

The Executive Director of the Montgomery County Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness says a local institution’s abuse of the mentally ill forever changed health care, according to Carol Caruso.

“Byberry, one of the state hospitals in Philadelphia, there were family members who went in and took pictures of people chained to walls and that kind of thing.”

Caruso urges people not to ignore the signs of mental illness, particularly with children and teens.

“When a student is getting good grades and then is suddenly failing and sleeping too much, that’s a clear signal that something is wrong.”

The National Alliance on Mental Illness, Montco Chapter, will hold an awareness and fundraising walk Saturday morning at 10AM at Montgomery County Community College.

May is Mental Illness Awareness Month.

The Bucks County Association For The Blind and Visually Impaired is hoping to raise the necessary funds to continue serving its clients. Executive Director, Anne Marie Hyer says, this Sunday’s event at the Doylestown Country Club is a silent auction and fashion show to support the Association’s low-vision clinic.

“And that’s really a specialized clinic, After people have seen their regular optometrist or ophthalmologist and they have corrected their vision to the best of the medical community’s ability, we help them learn how to function with their vision loss. We can provide low vision aides for them and it can be something as simple as a handheld magnifier or can be something as complex as a portable electronic reader.”

Sunday’s event at the Doylestown Country Club stats at 2pm. Tickets are 55 dollars. The fashion show will feature a 1960’s theme.

Senior citizens are often the target of scammers. In some documented cases, caretakers have ripped off the elderly by stealing from bank accounts and taking checks. The Head of Consumer Affairs for Bucks County, Mike Bannon says both Bucks and Montgomery Counties have special units to deal with anyone who steals from seniors.

“Bucks and Montgomery Counties both have a Task Force to investigate anyone who physically, mentally or financially abuses a senior. They are good programs to go to if anyone should need help.”

May is Older Americans Month. Bannon was a guest on the
AM-Edition Tuesday.

The Lansdale Historical Society will present the history of churches in Lansdale. The Historical Society’s Pat Rieker says the event is scheduled for Tuesday evening.

“When Lansdale was getting its start in 1872, it was very important that churches become established and families needed to move here and they were looking for a church home. The founding fathers, Dr. Jacobs and the Heebner brothers, who were the owned the Heebner Agricultural Works, were instrumental in establishing the Lansdale Methodist-Episcopal Church, which was the first church in Lansdale.”

The event is Tuesday night at the Lansdale Park & Rec. building at 7:30. Pat Rieker was a guest Monday morning on the AM-Edition with Darryl Berger.