Common Threads Stories of Survival & Recovery from Mental Illness
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Common Threads Stories of Survival & Recovery From Mental Illness Edited by Patrick Hendry 2007 A project of The Florida Peer Network, Inc., and the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute The Florida Peer Network, Inc. This publication was produced by the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy located at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute University of South Florida 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Tampa, FL 33612-3807 Contact Information: Patrick Hendry Executive Director Florida Peer Network, Inc. www.floridapeernetwork.org (877) 352-7337 OR Mark Engelhardt, M.S., A.C.S.W. (813) 974-0769 [email protected] USF Faculty - Department of Mental Health Law and Policy http://mhlp.fmhi.usf.edu © October 2007 Acknowledgments Patrick Hendry of the Florida Peer Network, Inc. and Mark Engelhardt of the University of South Florida, Florida Mental Health Institute would like to thank Jane Warren of Rising Solutions, Inc. for her technical editing and Carrie Wagner and Shelley Stewart of the Florida Mental Health Institute for coordinating the production of this document. Common Threads Stories of Survival & Recovery From Mental Illness Edited by Patrick Hendry 2007 A project of Th e Florida Peer Network, Inc., and the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute The Florida Peer Network, Inc. ii A project of the Florida Peer Network, Inc. & the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida Contents Foreword 3 Acknowledgments 5 Introduction 7 Common Th reads for Recovery ......................................................................7 It All Begins With Rights 9 Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W. .............................................................................9 Community Integration ...............................................................................10 Stories of Survival & Recovery: Finding Purpose Through Advocacy 12 Jeff rey Ryan ...........................................................................................12 Bill Schneider .........................................................................................16 Building a Consumer-Centered Mental Health System 16 Tools for Determining Success ..................................................................... 19 Self-Directed Care ........................................................................................20 Stories of Survival & Recovery: Spiritual Paths .......................................................21 Gordon Magill ........................................................................................21 Sally Clay ................................................................................................29 Gina Basile ..............................................................................................34 Supportive Housing 36 Stories of Survival & Recovery: Lives Interrupted and Reclaimed 38 Clint Rayner ................................................................................................38 Elvira Sears ...................................................................................................44 Daina Gold .................................................................................................46 Janice Eberly Anastasto ................................................................................54 Supported Employment 60 Stories of Survival & Recovery: The Creative Spirit 61 Greg Umlauf ................................................................................................61 Asariah Umar Asante ....................................................................................67 Advocacy & Peer Support Services 69 Stories of Survival & Recovery: Someone Who Believes in You 71 1 Common Threads — Stories of Survival & Recovery From Mental Illness October 2007 Dixie Merchant ............................................................................................71 Donna Griffi n ..............................................................................................76 Karen Gaines ...............................................................................................77 Access to Services in the Community 81 Stories of Survival & Recovery: Giving Back & Paying it Forward 82 Sandra McQueen-Baker ...............................................................................82 Rose Delaney ...............................................................................................90 Conclusion 97 A Vision for Tomorrow ..............................................................................100 References 103 2 A project of the Florida Peer Network, Inc. & the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida Foreword Th e reader is probably curious to learn what a person with mental illness is like. Who are these people? In what way are they ill, and what makes them diff erent from the rest of us? What can be done to help? Is it really possible to recover from mental illness? How would I know if I were mentally ill myself? I always wondered those things, too. I remember when I was in junior high school, I sometimes called myself “crazy,” and I joked about how the little men in white coats were going to come and take me away. In high school, my friends and I frequently called each other “nuts,” and it was a term of endearment, almost a compliment. When I was in college, however, madness ceased to be a joke because I myself was diagnosed as mentally ill. Now, many years later, I have recovered from mental illness, but I know that I will always be crazy. Th is book suggests some answers to our natural curiosity about mental illness. Th e authors of these stories of recovery are all people who have experienced mental illness, and they are all residents of the state of Florida. But they are all diff erent. Some of the storytellers fi rst experienced a psychiatric disability as a child; others were not diagnosed until later in life. Some talk about what it feels like to be depressed, hear voices, or struggle with addiction, and some talk about how physical abuse or a traumatic event led to psychiatric problems. For some people, mental illness brought with it unemployment, extreme poverty, and even homelessness. Yet some of our authors creatively pursued the arts even while dealing with mental distress, and some achieved remarkable success in professional careers or in the armed forces. Th eir accounts of recovery are also varied. Some people seem to follow a personal path of discovery from the start, whereas others whose lives were disrupted for many years emerge to lead productive lives through treatment or rehabilitation programs. Programs such as Self-Directed Care allow people to choose the kind of supports that they need to get on their feet again. Over and over again in these recovery stories, we fi nd that education, employment, and housing are at the top of the list for getting on the road to recovery. Also featured are case management programs such as the Florida Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) program and community-based services off ered by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Mental Health Association (MHA). However, our storytellers emphasize that personal attention and support in these programs made all the diff erence. Th e most striking element of recovery in these accounts is the human element of compassion and kindness. Almost every storyteller in this book attributes an important aspect of his or her recovery to some kind of face-to-face contact with another person—a mentor, friend, or family member. In these cases, there is the feeling that there is at least one other person who is “on my side, no matter what.” Th at person may be a doctor or a therapist, but even an old school friend, spouse, or daughter may provide the impetus to recovery. More and more often, recovered people themselves provide the needed support. In recent years, the mental health community in Florida has embraced the idea of 3 Common Threads — Stories of Survival & Recovery From Mental Illness October 2007 peer specialists employed in all aspects of the mental health system. Peer specialists are persons recovering from mental illness who provide support and advocacy to their peers—to other persons who have had similar experiences. As it was for Dixie Merchant, working as a peer specialist can become a “joyful life’s pursuit,” one that maintains one’s own recovery and facilitates recovery for other people as well. In addition to fi lling the newly certifi ed positions of peer specialists within treatment programs, mental health consumers have worked for years as advocates and supporters for their peers. Whereas the formal mental health system plays catch-up in promoting consumer-driven services in mental health, there are those of us who have been around for years, quietly instituting what we call the “helper principle”—acting as advocates and mentors for our peers while bringing about our own recovery. Mental health consumers in Florida and elsewhere have established hundreds of peer-run services such as peer support groups, consumer-operated businesses, and especially peer-run drop-in centers. Th e Fresh Start Drop-in Center, described in the story by Sandra McQueen-Baker, illustrates the model that mental health programs around the country now follow in trying to transform mental health services into programs that will foster recovery instead of obstructing it. Th e editor of this book, Patrick Hendry, has been working as an advocate and peer