Neighbor Wendy Powell Hopes To Raise Awareness Of Mental Illness After Mother’s Death

Amelia Martin lived life on her own terms, according to her only daughter Wendy Powell. Amelia was a creative woman, but she suffered from schizophrenia, which made things tough for her and her daughter. Amelia graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked as a fashion designer, but her mental illness made her unable to deal with the stresses of the industry and she eventually ended up jobless and alone with a baby to take care of.

“We were homeless and living in a shelter in the Bronx,” explains Wendy. “When I was 17, I had to leave her in the shelter. I just couldn’t keep living like that.”

After years of separation, Wendy was able to reconnect with her mother 25 years ago, after rescuing Amelia from an abusive sister who kept her locked in her room.

For the last 20 years, Amelia has lived with Wendy and her family and the two dealt with a lot together. “My first husband was abusive, and I’m not sure I would have left him if she hadn’t been there,” says Wendy. “He was afraid of her schizophrenia.”

Wendy eventually met and married Ed Powell and moved to the neighborhood with her mother and two daughters about 12 years ago.

But living on the streets for so many years took its toll on Amelia’s already fragile mental health and made her very fearful of authority. She constantly refused the assistance of medical professionals because of paranoiac hallucinations, and never took any medications for the duration of her adult life.

“During the last years of her life she suffered from agoraphobia. Even going to the front door of the apartment frightened her,” explains Wendy. “Her whole world consisted of the route from her bedroom to the bathroom to the kitchen.”

Because of her mental illness, other health conditions, and advanced age; she was dropped from her life insurance and became uninsurable. In addition, since she had not worked consistently throughout her life, she was not eligible for regular social security benefits.

“She was let down by the system, she fell through the cracks,” says Wendy.

On Monday, October 26, Amelia fell in the bathroom because of a brain aneurysm and by the time she was taken to Kings County Hospital, she had fallen into a coma.

On Friday, October 30, after having been declared brain dead for several days, Amelia’s heart stopped at 5:04pm, just as Wendy had stepped into the hospital room to visit her.

“When I came into this world it was only mom and I together, and in her last moments of life, as she left this world; we were again, alone together,” says Wendy.

Wendy hopes that her mother’s story will help raise awareness about mental illness and about problems with the resources available to help adults suffering from conditions like schizophrenia. “People see the end result, but don’t understand all of the other little details that brought them to that point,” said Wendy.

Now Wendy has started a Go Fund Me campaign to help raise money to pay for her mother’s medical bills and funeral expenses. If you’d like to contribute or learn more about Amelia, visit her Go Fund Me page here.

“I’m thankful that I had those 20 years, they were hard, but I think it really taught me how to deal with adversity. Things aren’t always going to go your way but you have to keep going. “