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Barb Hennings, long-time member of Yahara House in Wisconsin, was a powerful advocate for people with mental illness. She never shirked from defending the rights of people living with mental illness to have dignity, respect, friendship, and equality. Barb was a founding member of the ICCD Faculty and helped to draft the original Standards for Clubhouse Programs, which now serve as a ‘bill of rights’ for Clubhouse members around the world. Her profound commitment to the values of Clubhouse equality and opportunity have helped to change the lives of members everywhere. The Clubhouse movement will miss Barb tremendously, and we owe her a great debt of gratitude.

Livingston Daily.com – November 26, 2011
  

Summary: Genesis House, based in Fowlerville, Michigan was in the news recently. The Clubhouse has developed successful partnerships with local businesses who support their transitional employment program. Genesis House member Brian Draganski suffers from bipolar disorder and, until October of this year, had been unemployed for six years. He was recently hired by Asahi Kasei Plastics through the transitional employment program. Genesis House’s partnership with Asahi Kasei began in 2005 and Draganski is the eighth Genesis House member to work at the company. Asahi Kasei recently received an award from the National Employment Expansion project in Washington, D.C. for its partnership with Genesis House. According to Bobbie Mazurek, safety and loss control specialist for Asahi Kasei, the Genesis House partnership works well. “Their work ethic is very strong; it’s a great asset for the company. It helps them and it helps us. We help each other in the program.” Genesis House director Lee Kellogg added, “Now they have a positive picture about adults with mental illness and what they’re capable of. It’s helpful in that way, too.” Genesis House also partners with Centurion Medical Products, T.J. Maxx and Old Navy and is always seeking new employment partners.

A recent study found that Clubhouse members were more likely to report being in recovery and having a higher quality of life compared with a group of participants from consumer run “drop in” centers ( Mowbray, Woodward, Holter, et al, 2009). Clubhouse members indicate that the Clubhouse provides valuable opportunities to pursue meaningful activities that help them address their mental health recovery at their own pace (Stoffel, 2008)…
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The New York Times –  November 26, 2011
Summary: In the fourth article of his “Lives Restored” series for the New York Times, Benedict Carey wrote about the case of Milt Greek who is managing a successful work and family life despite living with schizophrenia and a history of delusions that he needed to save the world. Mr. Greek is one of a number of people who believe that delusions are not merely symptoms of a disease but can be examined for meaning and contribute to recovery. Mr. Greek’s regimen combines meditation, work, drug treatment, therapy and charitable acts. “When I began to see the delusions in the context of things that were happening in my real life, they finally made some sense…..and understanding the story of my psychoses helped me see what I needed to stay well.” To read the entire article click here

The New York Times – November 17, 2011
Summary: Brooklyn’s East New York Clubhouse was recently in the news. The New York Times reported the story of clubhouse member, John Halloran, and how he has dealt with his financial and emotional struggles. Mr. Halloran has suffered from post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders since childhood. He also has a speech impediment, which he believes has been a barrier for him in finding work. In 2009, Mr. Halloran was referred to Brooklyn Community Services’ East New York Clubhouse, where he jumped at the chance to participate in running the clubhouse. “I wanted to get my life together and try and be normal”, he said.  In his volunteer work at the clubhouse, he discovered his passion for cooking and helped prepare meals for fellow members. He also began working at a boxing gym through a transitional employment program at the clubhouse. Mr. Halloran’s dream is to turn cooking into a profession and he has applied to take cooking classes. “When I cook, all my problems disappear,” he said. “It gets rid of all my stress. To read the entire article click here

Mental illness advocates should simply decide that there is no stigma. While eliminating “stigma” requires only a change in their own thinking, the battle to eliminate prejudice and discrimination is much harder and is still ongoing, because it requires changing others. But importantly, eliminating prejudice and discrimination couldn’t be done without first recognizing that the alleged “stigma” that was preventing everyone from speaking out didn’t even exist. Stigma was killed, and everyone moved on to focus on the real enemy: prejudice and discrimination.

May was Mental Health Awareness Month. This year, it should be celebrated as “Stigma Is Dead Month.” Next year it should be converted to “End Discrimination Against The Mentally Ill Month.” Click here to read the entire article.

“Lives Restored: Executive with Schizoaffective Disorder Uses Job to Cope”
The New York Times – October 22, 2011
Summary: The New York Times recently published the third installment in its “Lives Restored” series by Benedict Carey, profiles about people living with severe mental illness. This most recent profile tells the story of Keris Myrick, a fifty-year-old chief executive of a nonprofit organization. Ms. Myrick has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder and has worked out her own way of managing her condition while building a full successful life. After years of dealing with the pain of mental illness, Ms. Myrick “learned that she needed a high-profile position, not a low-key one, to face down her spells of paranoia and despair.” In 2008, she took over Project Return Peer Support Network and oversees 94 trained advisers who provide symptom-management advice and other services to people struggling with mental illness. With the help of a therapist, Ms. Myrick has developed a strategy “combining a heavy work schedule, regular reality checks with colleagues, sympathy from her dog and the option to bail out for a few days if needed – in luxury.”
To read the entire article click here

The New York Times – June 23, 2011 and August 6, 2011
Summary: Benedict Carey, journalist and reporter on medical and science topics for The New York Times, has recently published the first two profiles in a series for the Times about “people who are functioning normally despite severe mental illness and have chosen to speak out about their struggles.” The first Lives Restored profile, “Expert on Mental Illness Reveals Her Own Fight, A Therapist’s Demons”recounts the story of Dr. Marsha Linehan, a therapist who created a treatment used worldwide for severely suicidal people. Dr. Linehan has suffered most of her life from borderline personality disorder and recently went public for the first time. “So many people have begged me to come forward”, said Dr. Linehan, “and I just thought – well, I have to do this. I owe it to them. I cannot die a coward.” The second article in the series, “Learning to Cope with a Mind’s Taunting Voices, Managing Mental Illness” profiles Joe Holt, who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Mr. Holt is a computer consultant and entrepreneur, married with three foster children. For many years, he attributed the negative voices in his head and thoughts of suicide to a cruel and difficult childhood. In 1996 he began to realize that he suffered from mental illness and started taking steps to manage and learn to live with his condition. “The hardest part is that just to stay in the game, I have to scrutinize my every thought, every attitude, every emotion, everything, and ask, ‘Is this real?’ And when it’s bad, I have to adjust my life somewhat to get through it. I had to have some kind of system.”