There is no denying that Massachusetts’ mental health system is in crisis (“The desperate and the dead,’’ Page A1, June 26). However, the focus on people with mental illness committing extreme acts of violence only perpetuates stigma and people’s worst nightmares. Widely shared negative stereotypes about the causes and effects of mental illness create a stigma, which is the greatest barrier preventing people and their families from getting the help they need.

It is the hope of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Massachusetts that future Spotlight articles highlight more specifically the lack of a comprehensive, community-oriented system of care, and identify the state resources needed to create such a system.

Emergency rooms are overcrowded with people who are boarding when no hospital beds are available. Police are our front-line responders to people in crisis, and jails are filled with people who need mental health services, not incarceration.

Ill-equipped and fearful families frequently assume the crushing responsibility of caring for loved ones because the current system is impossible to navigate and there are simply not enough resources. It’s hard to imagine a similar system treating someone with diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.

Perhaps this series will be a catalyst for finding sustainable solutions to the increasingly alarming crisis in our state.

Laurie Martinelli

Executive director

NAMI Mass

Boston