Don’t Count Me Out

My mother, Sakeenah Francis, developed schizophrenia over thirty years ago. Sakeenah shares her darkest moments of living with schizophrenia and her arduous path to long-term recovery in Love’s All That Makes Sense. Like many with schizophrenia, she struggled early on to cope with her illness. Describing the first twelve years of life with schizophrenia as a Cinderella story in reverse, Sakeenah went from homecoming queen, being married with two children, and having a good job to being homeless for several days, incarcerated for ten days, and in and out of mental hospitals. After hitting rock bottom, she made a conscious choice to stay on her medicine for her sake and her family’s.

Sixteen years and counting in recovery, my mother proves that a ‘normal’ life is possible for people with schizophrenia. A mental health consumer for over thirty years, Sakeenah has a wealth of first-hand knowledge about mental hospitals, mental health centers, and providers and how they can best support long-term recovery. Passionate about raising awareness about mental illness and eliminating stigma, she is a mental health advocate.  A speaker for NAMI Greater Cleveland’s In Our Own Voices program, Sakeenah has given over fifty speeches discussing her experiences living with schizophrenia and being in long-term recovery. She was NAMI Greater Cleveland’s Mental Health Advocate of the Year in 2012.  She served on the board of trustees for the Bridgeway Mental Health Center for two years and is currently serving on NAMI Greater Cleveland’s Multi-cultural Advisory Board.