ORIENTAL, NC – My name is Mary Houston-Harvey. I am writing to share with you a one-page proposal for DANI’s (Developmental And Nutritional Integration) Haven. This is an initiative designed to create a safe, healthy, spiritually supportive environment for children who face mental and emotional health challenges. Mr. Kennedy, you are deeply committed to the well-being of young people, and to the strength of our communities. I request your valuable guidance for this ambitious project.
My daughter Danielle (nickname Dani) was a ballet prodigy who suffered a breakdown at age 27. She danced with the NYC Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and was the Principal dancer of the Karole Armitage Ballet. She was the subject of a book, I AM A DANCER; appeared in several movies; and, was featured in major publications, including the New York Times and Washington Post.
We had placed my daughter in multiple facilities in the US and Europe without success. We had the advice of many properly trained psychiatrists who understood her needs; however, no facility was adequately equipped to handle individuals with special needs and treatments. We were disillusioned time after time with the low quality of care in the most expensive facilities. Most facilities have processed food diets and standardized non-creative programs. As one wealthy patient said, “The only difference between the top psychiatric hospital and a state run hospital was the quality of paint on the wall” We chose in the end to keep our daughter at home. My daughter, Dani, suffered her whole life – as have many others – from mental illness. She passed away April 2024.
My husband and I have had a health practice for over 30 years, using alternative methods to successfully treatlast stage cancer in adults and children, as well as other health problems that couldn’t be solved by traditional pharmaceutical medicine. I hosted a radio show on health and nutrition for 15 years on WBAI in NYC and interviewed leading-edge doctors in the field of mental health and nutrition.
I worked in Washington, DC with Dr. Bertram Brown, who served as the psychiatrist for Congress and for five U.S. Presidents. I currently write a health column for a newspaper in eastern North Carolina We are referenced in two books by medical doctors and in the best seller CHOOSE TO LIVE, by Joyce & Kevin O’Brien. We have trained doctors, having had success with difficult conditions that defied conventional treatments.
I hope to have a conversation with you to establish a Healthy Healing community for mentally and emotionally challenged young people. I am in the process of starting a Foundation and writing a series of articles on the mental health crisis of children in our country. We must have a more compassionate and effective way of dealing with this National Crisis. I believe DANI’s Haven would be a prototype for a solution.
I am seeking your guidance on how to go forward in this endeavor. I will need other creators to help with funds, and structure. I have collected information on the leading-edge doctors and clinics working in this field. My goal is to partner with leaders who care deeply about child Welfare and Community Well Being. I can provide testimonial letters of our work, which includes those who had cancer and other physical and mental conditions
Editor’s note: Next week, we will publish the author’s one-page proposal, which she will soon send to RFK, Jr. Readers may correspond by email: maryandrichard31@gmail.com
