Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Mental Health Hero nomination

A department within this state (I forget which one) runs a little contest each year for the Mental Health Champion in which the case worker writes about a client with a mental illness, their recovery, and the ways in which they inspire other people. There is a recognition ceremony
in the capital for them, and a little prize as well. Most importantly, they get recognized for how special they are to have not given up, to have continued working. There is a woman I've written about before on this blog, Shalle, who I nominated this year. I haven't yet heard if she's won, but I wanted to share what the nomination essay.

Shalle is a mental health champion for both the recovery in her own life and the effect her spirit has on others. Even without bipolar disorder, the forces that threatened Shalle’s successful life chances were great. Raised by a single addicted mother, she began abusing crack herself when she was 13, and for almost 20 years, perpetuated the family pattern of drug abuse and prostitution. In 2008, this combination left her pregnant with her second daughter. She felt compelled, for the first time, to seek a new way of life, foreign to her, in which her coming child would be spared the drama and trauma of her own childhood. She had no example to follow, but began to take tentative first steps towards adulthood.

She again quit using drugs, for the final time, the most important time, and moved into a homeless shelter. She began to access and utilize services available to a pregnant woman and prepare for her coming daughter. She tenaciously adhered to the medication requirements through the uncomfortable give and take of different combinations, and she faithfully attended 12-step meetings. Most importantly, in the face of loneliness and rejection, she began to seek out a different social support system, one that did not glorify the street life.

Upon her daughter’s birth, some well-meaning family members, unaware of Shalle’s budding transformation, involved child protective services for fear of possible mistreatment. There was little chance of this, however, as her motivation to succeed was renewed every time she saw her baby. With the help of local agencies, she secured an apartment, took parenting classes and maintained the many DFS requirements necessary to keep her child. She did such a good job that, at the end of September, DFS decided that she no longer needed their supervision.

During this time, she began to work small jobs, particularly around the mental health center she attends daily. They gave her a small job of doing other clients’ laundry in exchange for a small stipend, a position reserved for someone mature and trustworthy. During this time, she has grown in self-confidence and self-respect, and she treats every person she helps with dignity and care. She continues to fearlessly face her own emotions, insecurities, fears, and ghosts of the past that continually threaten her sobriety. Finally, she is also reaching out to her elder daughter, who followed in her own footsteps of life on the street.

She faithfully and bravely works to reach her goals of sanity and self-discovery. Even in the face of disappointments, she perseveres. She is a model for others of a successful transition from a drug abusing mentally ill woman wrapped up in prostitution, to an independent sober parent. The changes that Shalle is continuing to make in her life and the way she bravely shares them with others makes her the local mental health champion. People look up to her as proof that the sober life can be achieved. She has done it with perseverance, humility, dignity and class.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

I knew I wrote him!

Kent is a man who has been around my center for many many years. His attempts for sobriety have been sporadic, and even now, is not total, however, he has stopped smoking crack and, though still drinking, doing it less. A simple man, its sometimes difficult to talk to him, and I have frequently mistaken this as a reticence to talk to me, but over time, I think I understand him a little better, and our relationship has solidified into one of humor. He's quiet and self-conscious about his missing teeth, which prevents him from smiling broadly, so it usually takes him a little while before he feels comfortable saying something.
My agency organizes Christmas giveaway for our clients who usually fill out an anonymous form with shoe and clothing sizes for themselves and their children, as well as special toy requests. For our department's guys, since they don't have any place to store gifts, we ask for gift cards, and each counselor gives them to their clients. We also ask them to write a thank you note for the donor. I caught Kent on his way through my office to give him his. I said, "Santa came and left a gift for you." He said, "Did he? I knew I wrote him!"
This was such a quick response and one so witty that it still calls up a chuckle and was a good beginning to the holiday weekend.