What does a person need in their environment in order to recover?
How do I know when someone is ready
to make a change or transition into the community?
How do I know whether a community-based
service is truly recovery-oriented?
What is the evidence that people with serious
and persistent mental health challenges recover?
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a strand...of pearls
a string of moments
each person
each memory
i run...through my fingers
whereever i go
wherever i am
this is...home
this is...community
this...i offer you
a strand...of pearls (-bc)
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"If I could have one thing,
just one thing different,
it would be to touch that stone-cold part of my soul
and give it light.
To walk, wet and shivering,
out of the river of fear
with a heart that no longer needs to hide..." -poet unknown
Fear and loneliness are two emotions that the people I support know too well. These are persistent realities that have been a part of their world for too long. Thousands of individuals with mental health challenges have been living in isolation and pervasive loneliness and need the opportunity to a full and meaningful life and to reconnect with themselves and others in meaningful ways.
As a Community Building Team member with Recovery Innovations. I know that I have a sacred task to connect with others and to welcome folks into the community. As I work within our team at RI, I am reminded of the deep obligation to act when we are a witness to someone with mental health challnges who has long been disconnected from the world and desires real community.
As Bruce Anderson states in his article "Feeling Welcome", he shares what he believes is the essence of community building when he states, "At the heart of all community building is the desire to connect citizens with other citizens."
As I think about the social support we offer individuals, I am struck with the heroic stand so many of those we support take when they choose to step out of restricted living arrangements and say they want to a chance at a full and meaningful life. We get the joy of seeing that ground-breaking work take place every day for individuals who have been disconnected from any sense of community for years.
Anderson goes on to say, "By telling our own stories of loneliness and describing the pathways that guided us through those times, we may locate a collective wisdom we can expand and take back to our work..."
He also points out that community building hits the touchstone of loneliness as he defines "Loneliness comes from the unmet desire to feel the presence of another in your life."
Peer supports is simply the art of learning to be with and stand with another in a supportive way as we move them forward in their wellness and into the community of their choosing.
This is one small step to break the power of that loneliness those I support know far too well.
As a member of the Community Building Team, I know that helping others find a way out of their loneliness shatters the illusion that I stand alone or that anyone needs to stand alone.
I stand with them. We stand with them as peers. We together seek to boldly take steps to make someone feel welcome in this world that has for so long felt alone.This is a civil right that should be afforded to all. No should stand alone.
Peer supports affords one of that right no matter whether they are in a tent city, under a bridge, in a jail, in a shelter, in a hospital or in an adult care home at the end of the world. We go to stand with them.
As Wendell Berry says, “true social change may stick, not through large heroic acts of defiance, but rather through the small acts each person makes because their conscience and integrity would be shattered if they did otherwise..."
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I am including these tips because many of us peers are given the task to develop partnerships in the community and we are the catalysts for developing recovery-oriented partnerships. I must confess knowing how to do this is entirely another matter. I am seeking to educate myself and I wanted to pass that information to other peers as they are wrestling with how to develop effective strategies for outreach and community engagement
Adapted from "Healthy People in Healthy Communities: A Dialogue Guide" by Tyler Norris and Lynde Howell with help from the local, state, and national partners of The Coalition for Healthier Cities and Communities, 1 North Franklin, Chicago, IL 60606. The Coalition for Healthier Cities and Communities is a Community Tool Box partner.
A community dialogue can help:
Where can a dialogue occur?
Who can participate or host the dialogue?
Every citizen has a role to play in building community and creating health. The vitality of our communities and democracy relies upon the active participation of every person. Anyone can participate in a dialogue. Seek diversity! Reach across lines of race, culture, class, and locale to gather participants.
Anyone can convene and host a "healthy community" conversation:
This is a helpful checklist for beginning community dialogue. You can add to this list and use it as a springboard to develop your own.
Preparing for a Community Dialogue:
___You focus your issue (e.g., safe water, living wages, diversity)
___You build a dialogue team to host the event
___You determine your goals for the dialogue (e.g., to reach common ground, launch new initiatives, generate media coverage, etc.) and design the session to support them
___You decide who will participate
___You select and prepare your facilitator
___You set a place, date and time for your dialogue
___You designate someone to record the dialogue
___You create an inviting environment
___You invite participants
Conducting the Dialogue:
___You greet participants and introduce the facilitator
___You establish ground rules for the dialogue as well as a relaxed atmosphere
___You use the seven questions to foster dialogue
___You monitor the group process
___You allow time for closing dialogue and any follow-up steps
___You engage the media and document the event if consistent with your goals
Making Your Dialogue Count:
___You record your findings and get results to participants and relevant organizations within ten days
___You follow up with the group on its interests
___You keep the conversation going
Give me some feedback and let me know if you find information like this helpful. I am also considering how some of this information is helpful as a framework for collaboration among peers as we begin the wonderful work of communicating and sharing our interests and hearts together across North Carolina.
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WHAT IS A TYPICAL DAY LIKE: As an In-reach Specialist, things are much different than they were in other jobs as a CPSS. First of all, you can not be an In-reach support specialist/Transitions Support Specialist without being certified in Peer Support. So, it is a great job for those of us that are CPSS. (All of the MCO's will be hiring for this position as time goes on...so keep your eyes open).
This program is called the TRANSITIONS TO COMMUNITY LIVING program. It came about so that mentally ill clients that are diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance abuse diagnosis can have an option for independent living in the community. This is to keep clients from having to live in mental health hospitals (like Cherry, Dorothia Dix, etc.) or adult care facilities.
The Dept. of Justice passed this program in order to help these clients integrate into society and have a chance at living independently and responsibly in the general population without being segregated into separate areas. In other words, they do not want clients to end up living in assisted living facilities, low income housing areas or apartments, etc. They want them to have the opportunity to live in regular housing in regular places. So, the Dept. of Justice and DHHS came up with a list of clients that meet this criteria of having a mental illness/substance abuse diagnosis and are presently in a group home, adult living facility, assisted living facility, hospital, etc. that may be interested in living on their own.
That is where the In-reach part comes in. We have the list and we do the initial in reach to these clients to 1)determine if they are interested in the program, 2)meet the criteria, 3) are able to live independently, even if they have to have supports set up, like an ACCT team or community support team, and 4)have some type of monthly income. Ok, once this part is done, this begins our 90 days transitions program. At that point, my job is to help them find housing in the area of their choosing; help them with setting up the deposits for rent, lights, whatever; help them set up the supports they will need to be successful; help them with the actual moving/transitions; help them with the basic necessities like food, furniture, bedding; follow up with them for 90 after the initial transitions to insure all their needs are being met; make sure all the paperwork is done for the housing program and supplemental assistance programs; help them set up a plan for success that includes crisis management, budgeting, paying bills, independent living skills, coping skills for their diagnosis, etc. So, everyday is different. I do work long enough with each client to be able to set up a good relationship and to feel like I have made a difference in their lives. I also feel like I have given them a chance at succeeding as well.
WHAT IS SUCCESS: That is a hard one and not a simple answer. It is important to know that not every client will succeed in meeting their goals. But, that does not mean we did not succeed. There are so many different ways that lessons, skills, hope, etc. is given to clients with each step along the way. Just because they do not meet their individual goals does not mean they did not improve their lives in some way. It could be something as small as they now believe they have the power to try again. Or they see that someone else that was in their shoes made it, so that gives them hope. That in its self is success.
Here is an example....a client is addicted to heroin. After failing over and over again at traditional rehab, 12 steps, abstinence based therapy, they decide to try medication assisted treatment. (methadone or Suboxone) After 6 months, they continue to have occasional drug screens that test positive for opiates. Lots of people would call that a failure. I do not because of the following: they are not using heroin everyday like they were at one time, they are getting the chance to see others on a daily basis that are making it work, they are getting counseling and going to groups even if it is only once a week, they are being seen by a medical team to make sure they are staying healthy, every day they do not cop on the streets or use is a day they are not faced with death or criminal activity. So, sometimes you have to look at the small successes along the way, not just the big picture.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO NEW PROSPECTS: My advice is to remember that each day is a learning experience. Just because you feel like you did not make the best decision or handle a situation just the right way, does not mean that you did not learn valuable information that will help you the next time. Also, make sure you carry yourself in the way you want others to see and treat you. When I first started as a CPSS, the attire at the office was casual. This meant that you could basically wear what ever you wanted to wear to work. It could be jeans, capris, comfortable clothing and shoes, etc. In the beginning, I wore what everyone else wore. Soon, I realized that in order to be seen as a professional, I needed to act like one. So, I started wearing business attire.....pencil skirts, dress pants, heels, tights/hosiery, carrying a leather tote/briefcase.
Quickly, I was seen different and treated with much more respect. Since we often work with other team members who have a 4 yr degree or a nursing degree, we may not been seen as being as high on the totem pole. If you go in with authority, behave professionally, make sure you do your work on time and be reliable, it will come. I promise you, it will come.
One more thing, becoming a CPSS has meant just as much to me personally as it does to the clients and other team members. It keeps me fulfilled emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I feel that I am making some positive out of all the years of hell, tears, disappointment, etc. I had. After all, I learned a lot of hard lessons along the way and I might as well use those lessons to help others. It makes me feel like I am making a difference in this world instead of just getting through each day.
I know when my last day comes and they put me in the ground, there will be some somewhere that will remember me as being the one that believed in them, helped them, or showed them that all things are possible. Isn't that much better than being remembered for nothing at all or worse, as a failure and disappointment? yeah, it is much better.
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