Walking Rhode Island: Bite-size hikes through nature, history

THE RHODE ISLANDER, 7B

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SUNDAY, APRIL 25, 2021 | PROVIDENCEJOURNAL.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK

MENTAL HEALTH IN RI One man’s ordeal in broken system Rafe Sweeney has languished in hospitals for years, lacking options for community care “I have faith that

G. Wayne Miller The Providence Journal graduate from the university with a de- I’ll get out of this USA TODAY NETWORK gree in philosophy. institution and I’ll But since then, Rafe, 53, has lived NORTH PROVIDENCE — During his with bipolar and schizoaffective have a good life. years attending the University of Cali- disorder, a difficult journey compound- fornia San Diego in the 1980s, Raphael ed by profound failures in the system God gives me the Leon Sweeney was known for his cre- charged with caring for him and many faith. It’s a gift, ativity and kindness. Rafe, as he likes to others who live with mental illness. be called, was a good son and a friend to For Rafe, the early years were turbu- and so I can be many, a musician and an accomplished lent. From 1990 to 1992, he was repeat- firm in hope, and guitarist. edly rehospitalized in San Diego. He Then he began to experience the first made multiple suicide attempts. He that makes me symptoms of mental illness, and in the struggled to accept his illness and the strong.” spring of 1990 he was hospitalized fol- medications that can treat it. Afraid her Raphael Leon “Rafe” Sweeney in his youth, when lowing multiple suicide attempts. Origi- son would not survive, his mother symptoms of his mental illness first emerged. In Rafe Sweeney Who has been hospitalized with nally interested in studying political sci- 2016, he blinded himself while in hospital care. little contact with the outside ence, the young man would manage to See RAFE, Page 8A COURTESY OF THE SWEENEY FAMILY world for almost four years

As America’s longest war winds down, Tom Mooney a wounded Army vet soldiers on with his family Staff writer The Providence Journal USA TODAY NETWORK Fishing for tranquility, not some idle chatter

“So, what’s your blood pressure?” The fly fisherman talking to me from the opposite bank of the narrow trout stream was a stranger. I’d laid eyes on him for the first time upon my arrival minutes earlier, not- ing a pandemic accessory, a face cov- ering in dubious condition, wedged under his chin. Perhaps he viewed my fly rod as evi- dence of some fraternal bond. But as I scanned the smooth pool for dimples of feeding fish, he began recounting life events of the last year, including his recent high blood pressure diagno- sis: “I’m in the trades, and the trades are pretty stressful, you know. My doc- tors got me on this ...” Rhode Island natives Michael Verardo and wife Sarah walk with daughters Grace, left, Mary Scott, center, and Elizabeth at I looked back at my truck hoping I’d their home outside Charlotte, N.C., in November 2019. They mark April 24 as Michael’s Alive Day, the anniversary of his forgotten to close the door. surviving a 2010 IED attack in Afghanistan. COURTESY OF SARAH VERARDO This spring, as we all emerge from our COVID casings like rapturous may- flies, I’m discovering another form of metamorphosis underway along the

Mark Patinkin See MOONEY, Page 13A Columnist The Providence Journal USA TODAY NETWORK The

Eleven years ago this weekend, Sgt. Michael Verar- do stepped on an IED while on patrol in Afghanistan. It took one of his legs, and much more. And lately, more still. Yet Michael, 36, sees it not for what he lost. He fo- cuses on what he has. daily That’s why he calls April 24 his Alive Day. Having chanced upon the date’s approach, I reached out to write a story of triumph. And it is. Michael, from Lincoln, married during his recovery and now has three young girls. But this is a different kind of story, too, a reminder of the unseen struggle of many injured by war. battle I reached his wife, Sarah, outside Charlotte, North “We work hard every day at surviving. Michael’s Carolina, where they moved to be near Michael’s Army injuries are part of every minute of our day. I’m brethren around his former Fort Bragg base. And be- still unpacking what the terrorists sent home with cause wheelchairs are easier to use in warm weather. him, 11 years later.”

See BATTLE, Page 11A Sarah Verardo Michael Verardo’s wife Tom Mooney casts off at Smithfield’s A.L. Mowry Pond in 2017. BOB BREIDENBACH/THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, FILE

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Salvaged from New York City ing loaded onto a freighter by the Atlan- curity uniform. His father, James, said PT boat tic Shipping Company to crash into the he’s been a member of the Coast Guard The wood and metal pieces of wreck- structure. Nardi says he’s hopeful the for 26 years and is now a reservist. Continued from Page 7A age were salvaged after JFK biographer newest display will help attract visitors. “This whole display is amazing; it’s William Doyle said he had explored a Last July, Nardi said the COVID-19 beautiful and beyond amazing,” he said. said. He also said he appreciates the seawall construction site on the Harlem pandemic had decimated revenue to the His wife, Sherri, says her son was guidance provided by Shea McLean, cu- River in New York City and identified nonprofit Battleship Cove. The site having a ball. “Our little boy wants to be rator of the USS Alabama, which Nardi the pieces as being consistent with that closed for three months, and all over- in the Coast Guard like his dad,” she says is the only remaining sister ship of in PT boat construction. night educational “camping trips” for said. “He loves ships and anything na- the USS Massachusetts battleship and In June 2020 the New York Metropol- young people were discontinued and val.” The array of World War II-era mil- is on display in Mobile, Alabama. itan Transit Authority invited Battleship have not resumed. Nardi said the bulk of itary vessels and Battleship Cove's gift “He’s a friend,” Nardi said. Cove to retrieve pieces of the wreck that revenue has always been generated by shop can be visited seven days a week The PT 59 wood parts will remain had been recovered from the river. those camping trips and private parties from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. submerged and filtered until it’s been Nardi says after the war the 77-foot and events held on the deck of the Big Admission for adults is $25 and $15 determined that all chlorides have been PT 59 was in the possession of three Mamie battleship. for children ages 4 to 12. Seniors pay leached away. The water is treated with separate owners at various times. $23, and both military veterans and polyethylene glycol, a plastic that infil- The display is in the same building as ‘The coolest thing’ anyone with an active military ID pays trates the wood pieces at the cellular the completely restored PT 617, also $16. The Maritime Museum building on level and eventually solidifies so that known as “Dragon Lady.” The recent warmer weather has been the other side of Water Street is includ- the wreckage can support its own Another PT boat, “Tail Ender” PT 796, attracting families, including the Rear- ed in the package but for now is only weight and be properly displayed. sits in the attached Quonset hut build- don clan of Middleboro, Massachusetts. open Wednesday through Saturday “If we didn’t do that it would just col- ing — which has been closed to the pub- “It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All tickets are sold lapse,” Nardi said. “It was sitting all that lic since February 2020, when strong said 8-year-old James Reardon, who inside the gift shop building and must time in salty, brackish water.” winds caused shipping containers be- was wearing a full Coast Guard port se- be purchased by 3:30 p.m.

in the Rhode Island mental health care Rafe system, either at the state hospital level or in the community mental health sys- Continued from Page 1A tem. “I cannot believe that the state of brought him to Newport, where she was Rhode Island cannot summon the ex- living. He became a client of a commu- pertise and the money to place one per- nity mental health center, and for a few son who is blind and lives with serious years he was independent and stable. mental illness in a residence where he This was the mid- to late 1990s, when will be safe. Doing this will be a hell of a Rhode Island had ended decades of lot cheaper than keeping him locked up gross abuse of people living with mental in the long-term unit at Fatima.” illness and developmental and intellec- Although BHDDH is currently work- tual disabilities by closing state institu- ing to transition Rafe to a group home, tions and creating a system of commu- he has not moved yet. nity care that was held to be a national McNulty closed with references to model. Legislators, activists and citi- Slater Hospital and the debacle sur- zens supported the money and policies rounding UHIP, the state’s $617-million needed for the community programs public-assistance computer system. and living arrangements that were the “Unfortunately, it seems like the po- foundation of that system. litical decision has been made to apply Years passed. Support faded. Money short-term fixes, bringing in consult- became scarce. Legislators and gover- ants to give us answers like UHIP and nors lost interest. The state agency that closing down Eleanor Slater Hospital had created and overseen the system, without considering the downstream the Department of Behavioral Health- consequences on real, live human be- care, Disabilities and Hospitals, or ings,” McNulty said. BHDDH, languished. A model system A recent shot of Rafe Sweeney, now 53, with his mother, Judy Sweeney, and deteriorated into crisis. sister, Kara Sweeney Guerriero. COURTESY OF THE SWEENEY FAMILY Comprehensive plan needed Warnings of the ultimate cost — in increased human suffering, incarcera- In an email to The Journal, Mental tion, homelessness, the toll on relatives, His dreams of ‘a wife Health Advocate Megan N. Clingham and more — went unheeded. and a normal family’ cited a passage from Rhode Island’s Rafe was among the many who paid Mental Health Law that the price — and are paying it still, as On Wednesday, Rafe spoke with The “I cannot believe requires that “Any person BHDDH remains in turmoil, its latest di- Journal from inside Fatima Hospital. that the state of who is a patient in a [psy- rector having recently resigned and Gov. He talked of his life ambitions before chiatric] facility shall Dan McKee having assigned state the onset of his illness and of his dec- Rhode Island have a right to receive the Health and Human Services Secretary ades-long course through hospitals and cannot summon care and treatment that Womazetta Jones to be interim director. programs. He described the importance is necessary for and ap- McKee also has paused a controversial of the Catholic faith that has helped sus- the expertise and the money Clingham propriate to the condition plan to downsize Eleanor Slater Hospi- tain him, and he looked to the future, for which he or she was tal, run by BHDDH. when he intends to use his experiences to place one person who is admitted and from which he or she can Beginning in 2012, this man who had to help others. A transfer to a group blind and lives with serious reasonably be expected to benefit.” his own apartment, a job at Naval Base home may finally be on the horizon. The law also, she wrote, “requires Newport and a dog named Charlie be- Recalling his university years, Rafe mental illness in a residence that persons receive treatment in the gan to cycle through several hospitals in said, “My first serious plans were to be a where he will be safe.” least restrictive setting where their Rhode Island. He frequently visited philosophy professor. After I left the fra- treatment needs can be met.” emergency rooms. He attempted sui- ternity lifestyle, I became an intellectual James McNulty By these measures, the state has Oasis Wellness & Recovery Center in Providence cide twice. In 2016, after a brief period of and I enjoyed studying political theory failed Rafe Sweeney and many others. stability, he crashed his truck on the Pell and philosophy for a while. But I discov- “The system of care as it exists cur- Bridge in what may have been a suicide ered that philosophy, human philoso- commenting on patients’ treatment. rently is not equipped to provide people attempt. phy, couldn’t bring me to the truth. So I Butler Hospital could not provide de- with the individualized treatment they That year, while a Butler Hospital in- quit and I started to study law.” tails of Rafe’s blinding. need, either in the community or in patient, he blinded himself with his fin- Rafe spoke of his religious beliefs, But the “Inpatient Program Fre- some cases long term residential treat- gers during a moment of crisis. What saying, “I live by faith instead of eye- quently Asked Questions” page on the ment,” Clingham wrote. “As advocates followed was a succession of stays at an sight. I have faith that I’ll get out of this Butler website states: “Safety is our pri- have been pointing out for years, Rhode out-of-state hospital and hospitals in institution and I’ll have a good life. God ority. To assist you in staying safe, the Island needs a comprehensive state Rhode Island. Since 2016, he has been gives me the faith. It’s a gift, and so I can unit uses a checks system in which a plan to develop and maintain a full con- hospitalized, permanently sightless and be firm in hope, and that makes me staff member checks on you frequently tinuum of care that meets people’s having little contact with the outside strong. I can be miserable and joyful at throughout the day. Staff also ensure needs. world, for more than 1,300 days, almost the same time. that the environment is safe through “It is my hope that with the infusion four years. “It used to be I wasn’t able to do that frequent unit safety checks. Staff are al- of [federal COVID relief] funding Rhode The last stay has been at Our Lady of and I was thrown back and forth like a ways available to talk about any safety Island will now be able to invest smartly Fatima Hospital, where he was admitted little boat in the waves. But really, really concerns you have.” in the development and maintenance of on Oct. 23, 2019, and where he contract- in the last 13 months my life has a robust system of care that encom- ed and recovered from COVID in 2020. changed. I stopped trying to please God Clamoring for an overhaul passes the full range of services needed and I just lay down in bed and thought to allow people to live safely and pro- A hope to help others and prayed while he took away my fears, With a new governor in office and a ductively in the least restrictive and my shames and my doubts. Now, I’m new interim director of BHDDH, advo- most appropriate setting individualized This is Rafe’s story, told by him and healthier than I ever have been in my cates say now is the time for change. to each person’s unique needs.” his relatives, and with the help of rec- entire life.” “It is critically important that Rhode ords and notes the family has carefully Looking to the day when he will live Island address the behavioral health From patient to peer counselor? kept — and which his younger sister, Ka- in the community again, Rafe said, “My continuum of care,” state Sen. Louis P. ra Sweeney Guerriero, president of IN- ideal situation would be to have a wife DiPalma, long a champion of behavior- Rafe ended his phone interview with CITE Consulting Solutions, a health- and a normal family.” al-health issues, told The Journal. “The The Journal on an optimistic and inspi- care firm in Charlotte, And to work in a capacity where he community has been clamoring for this rational note. North Carolina, shared will be able to help others. for many, many years. While progress When he returns to the community, with The Journal. Guer- has been made, we have significant he hopes to become a peer recovery spe- riero holds power of at- Cycling through hospitals work ahead of us. cialist, sharing his history and lessons torney and health care “Investment, both learned with others who have been in power of attorney for her Since his admission to Butler one-time and operation- similar circumstances with the aim of brother. Hospital on Nov. 23, 2016, Rafe has had al, is needed to realize helping them. Sweeney Rafe and his relatives inpatient stays there, at Rhode Island this vision. Front and “I’m something of a teacher, you Guerriero shared their long journey, Hospital and at Silver Hill Hospital in center are the establish- know, because I teach by way of my ex- Guerriero said, “recog- New Canaan, Connecticut, as well a few ment and scaling of evi- periences,” he said. “I’ll tell people about nizing unfortunately that his story, the weeks at the Bella Villa Assisted Living dence-based programs in myself so that others can understand years languishing in restrictive environ- facility in East Providence. During this DiPalma the community, which what they’re going through.” ments, is not unique, in the hope that time, he has not lived anywhere else. typically cost less than And he intends to teach with the writ- the lessons therein might help bring re- Medicaid and Medicare have paid for having individuals reside in congregate ten word. form and a better life for some of Rhode his care. But had proper community liv- care settings.” “It’s not bragging, but I’m an excep- Island’s most vulnerable and least pow- ing arrangements and programs been He added: “I’ll be working to seeing tional writer,” Rafe said. erful people, people who remain stig- available, not only would he be in a bet- how we can leverage investments from His sister, Kara Sweeney Guerriero, matized and marginalized. ter place but the savings to taxpayers the American Rescue Plan to address affirmed her commitment to help im- “As the state considers how to rebuild would have been significant. Inpatient this continuum of care, specifically the prove the treatment and care of people the social safety net, monies spent in hospital rates are higher than communi- establishment and scaling of evidence- who live with mental illness. such high-cost settings could be better ty-based services. based programs,” those proven to work. “I’m spending the next 30 years of my spent providing supports and resources Confidentiality provisions of the 1996 Leading advocate James McNulty, life doing whatever I can to fix this,” she in the community, but the will to effect Health Insurance Portability and Ac- head of Oasis Wellness & Recovery Cen- said. “Rafe is a really sweet, generous change must come from leadership at countability Act, commonly known as ter in Providence, happens to know Rafe and kind man. If the pain that he has the highest levels to commit to and HIPAA, prohibit hospitals and health- and members of his family. He said: gone through can effect positive change make change happen.” care providers from releasing records or “There are just not enough levels of care for others, then it is worthwhile.”