Dianne Harris

 

As a microbiologist for psychiatric hospitals of the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) in the 1970s/80s, Dianne developed an interest in the well-being of those with severe mental illness. Later, she obtained a Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University and worked as a grant administrator focused on HUD housing grants in small cities. While she worked on a project to fund transitional housing for men, an ODMH study found the lack of affordable housing was the “cause” of mental illness and turned its departmental back on responsibility for treating the homeless brain ill.

Dianne watched her father and a friend suffer serious breakdowns. With medication, they were able to recover. However, her younger sister and her son died young of conditions that weren’t diagnosed because of the effects of their brain illnesses.

Now retired, Dianne advocates for serious brain disorder treatment and the elimination of homelessness.