Frank Baron
Interviewed by: Katie Cadigan
Frank grew up in Los Angeles, graduating from Fairfax High School and receiving an engineering degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. After serving with the U.S. Navy for three years and volunteering in Yemen with the Peace Corps, Frank returned to the U.S. and began working as a civil engineer in Orange County. During this time, he began experiencing hallucinations and periods of depression. After several psychiatric hospitalizations, he found a medication that worked well for him. With the help of psychiatrists at the Veterans Administration in West Los Angeles, medication, and other support, Frank thrives as a leading mental health advocate with NAMI and as a member of the L.A. County Mental Health Commission. He explains that mental illness can “really happen to anybody, and once realized that, I realized I really would try to do as mental health advocacy as I could for the rest of my life. I’m committed to this for the rest of my life.”