About everyminute.org

  • Mission Statement

    • everyminute.org is a grassroots campaign uniting advocates, mental health professionals and organizations into a single coalition creating a public forum advancing the need and benefit of increased mental health research.

  • About

    • everyminute.org supports innovative research that will profoundly transform the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders, paving the way for a cure. The need for transformative, innovative research is urgent; each year, as many as 57 million Americans meet criteria for some mental disorder (1), with roughly 12 million reporting symptoms so severe as to cause significant disability and interference with everyday living. Similarly, the economic costs of mental disorders are estimated at over $317 billion(2), with most due to the loss of economic productivity as a result of the illnesses. We know that mental disorders can also be fatal. Each year more Americans die from suicide than from homicide(3). In sum, these are real disorders requiring life-saving treatments.

      "We now have the research tools necessary. Now is the time for research to set an ambitious goal of finding cures and preventive interventions for these disabling illnesses." everyminute.org is a grassroots organization mobilizing mental health advocates, organizing them into a lobbying power with the goal of encouraging Congressional leaders to increase mental health research funding.

  • Michael Corbin's Bio

    • Michael Corbin is a man who knows what he’s talking about. He first attempted suicide in the 4th Grade, only to be followed by many more attempts. He began self-medicating his emotional pain in the 6th Grade, continuing into his mid-twenties. Michael had a wife and child, only to lose them to a disease, a disease affecting over 57.7 million adults throughout the US.

      Mental illness, substance abuse and behavioral problems among children and young adults, costs the United States $247 billion a year in treatment and lost productivity alone. That figure excludes criminal justice and education, workplace disruption and social welfare spending which would certainly add many billions more to the price tag. Nearly a million people worldwide commit suicide each year, with anywhere from 10 to 20 million suicide attempts annually. Over 32,000 people reportedly kill themselves each year in the United States and that number is growing. The true number of suicides is likely higher because some deaths that were thought to be an accident, like a single car accident, overdose or shooting, are not recognized as being a suicide. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in males and the 16th leading cause of death in females. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 25-34 year olds and the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds. Trends in rates of suicides for teens 15 to 19 years of age indicate that from 1950 to 1990, the frequency of suicides increased by 300%. In 2005, 372,722 people were treated in emergency departments for self-inflicted injuries.

      A person dies by suicide about every 16 minutes in the United States. An attempt is estimated to be made once every minute.

      Ninety percent of all people who die by suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death.

      Michael Corbin has bipolar disorder.

      Born in rural Illinois in 1970, Michael was the youngest of five children. He worked in the family custom home construction business until the Corbins moved to Middle Tennessee when Michael was 22. Michael had struggled with undiagnosed mental illness for many years of substance abuse and periods of homelessness, until he was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 25. He then married and developed a successful career in retail management while in Texas. In 2002, he made Tennessee his permanent home, moving closer to his family for support. After a medication related DUI that cost him 9 1/2 months in jail, Michael planned to start his own non-profit organization devoted to helping those with mental illness. He began by working at NAMI Tennessee as a volunteer in mid-2006. Michael was part of the inaugural In Our Own Voice training in August 2006 and quickly became one of the most requested presenters. He remained with NAMI on a volunteer basis capitalizing on his organizational, technological and system design skills and eventually became the assistant coordinator for In Our Own Voice. In 2007, recognizing his gifts of vision and passion, Michael was promoted to trainer and In Our Own Voice coordinator for the entire state of Tennessee. He has since been involved in the training of over 200 presenters nationwide. He has helped start a NAMI Vanderbilt University campus affiliate, currently sits on the board of NAMI Nashville, represents NAMI Tennessee on the National Consumer Council, and the AmeriGroup Advisory Council. He has given numerous local, state and national presentations and workshops including the National CIT Conference and two NAMI National workshops.

      Michael is now heading a nationwide campaign called everyminute.org. The campaign is focused on mental health research that envisions a future with the ability to accurately diagnose mental illnesses, provide the framework for personalized treatment planning, the reduction of treatment costs, and the restoration of many years of lost quality of life. With the proper tools, inaccurate diagnoses and inappropriate medications can be alleviated. Together we can pave the way for a future without mental illness.

      A Marine who barely knew Michael once said that he would follow him into battle anytime. The battle for better mental health treatment options is closer to being won with Michael Corbin in the fight.

  • About Our Founder

    • Eight million, nine hundred thirty-five thousand, two hundred minutes.  That’s how long it’s been since my daughter was diagnosed with major depressive disorder.  I watched in helplessness as she had weeks when she couldn’t even get out of the bed.  I pled my case before psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists.  It took one million fifty-one thousand two hundred minutes – before she was stabilized.  I am one of the fortunate ones who could afford to take her to doctors and hospitals anywhere in the country.  Every year, we would make the same pilgrimage to the same university hospital as a back up in case something happened to our psychiatrist .  Tick.
                 
      My daughter began experiencing tremors – serious tremors.  Panicked, I took her to a neurologist.  At first, they diagnosed her as having the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease.  I thought, “How can she endure one more thing?”  Undaunted, I went to three major hospitals and conversed with psychiatrists and neurologists.  One doctor suggested taking her off of one of her psychotropic medications.  Magically, the tremors stopped.  “Why does medication therapy have to be trial and error, hit or miss?”  Tock.

      I began a dialogue with doctors at a major research hospital.  I asked them, “What would it take to get closer to a cure for mental illness?”  They said they were lacking an extremely expensive machine they needed to study the genetics of mental illness.  I agreed to purchase the machine.   When I returned the following year, I learned that there was not sufficient funding to carry the project forward. It then became my mission to investigate how to get appropriate funding.  It was not only for my daughter, but for the millions of other people in the country who suffer.  Tick.

      I am Curtis Graves.  everyminute.org is the result of my concern for my daughter and other sons and daughters like her.  I asked  “Why do these illnesses affect some but not others?  Why does it take so long to get effective help?  Why does this illness make some people feel like they have no other choice but to end it all?  What will it take for those with mental illness to get affordable, quality treatment?”  I believe that if we unite our voices, we will have a voice in Congress and we will have their ear.  Armed with information, personal stories and the online signatures of millions of people around the country, Congress will agree that there should be more money for research.  Add your signature to the Online Declaration to help stop the ticking.

      » Join Curtis Graves and his family in the fight to defeat mental illness.

      The Family

  • Press and Media Room

  • FAQ

    • everyminute.org is a grassroots campaign uniting advocates, mental health professionals and organizations into a single coalition creating a public forum advancing the need and benefit of increased mental health research.