Unconditional family support and great medical care still couldn’t coax Betsy Kirk out of her small world.

How could people understand what it’s like to experience the unpredictable and dramatic mood swings associated with bipolar illness? Even she couldn’t accept the diagnosis.

That is, until she found others with life stories that sound like hers.

“I met people who had gone through the same or graver situations than myself,” she said. “It made a huge difference.”

That difference was a nine-week program designed to show people struggling with mental illness how they can manage their symptoms and lead regular lives.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary

  • The Livable Community Framework

• Chapter One: Introduction to Livable Communities for People with Psychiatric Disabilities

  • Terminology

• Chapter Two: The Recovery Model and Its Implications

  • What Is the Recovery Model?
  • An Empowerment Model of Development and Recovery
  • Recovery and Independent Living

• Chapter Three: Housing—The Key Element

  • Programs or Homes?
  • Two Model Programs
  • Recommendations

• Chapter Four: Real Jobs at Real Wages

  • The Importance of Work
  • The Shift to Competitive Employment
  • The Problem with Benefits
  • Work Opportunities in Consumer-Run Programs
  • Federal Policies and Employment
  • Recommendations

• Chapter Five: Stigma and Discrimination—The Invisible Barriers

  • Defining Stigma and Discrimination
  • Stigma and Discrimination Within the Mental Health System
  • Recommendations

• Chapter Six: Livable Communities in Action—Models That Work

  • Identifying What Helps
  • Independent Living
  • Personal Assistance Services
  • Self-Help/Peer Support Programs
  • Networking and Education for Peer Support
  • Provider-Run Programs That Promote Recovery
  • Innovative Uses of Medicaid Funding
  • Person-Centered Planning
  • Self-Determination
  • Recommendations

• Chapter Seven: Other Barriers to Inclusion in Livable Communities

  • People Living in Rural Areas
  • Accessing General Medical Care
  • Recommendations

• Chapter Eight: Envisioning an Ideal Future

• Appendix

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
GrandCentral: 517-589-4081
MDRC Website: http://www.copower.org/
LTC Blog: http://ltcreform.blogspot.com/
Recovery: http://therecoveringlife.blogspot.com/
Change: http://prosynergypsc.blogspot.com/

from Gerald Butler:

5/1/2008

Mental Health Month

Letter to Consumers

In celebration of Mental Health Month we are asking consumers to dedicate this month to their own personal recovery. I am requesting that for the next 30 days we put the negativity in our lives on the back burner, and spend this month enjoying our recovery. This will be for only 30 days after which I guarantee you’ll feel better about yourself. The better you feel about yourself, the better your recovery. We are asking for you to treat yourself with the respect and dignity you deserve. Following are just a few suggestions, as I know each one of you will have better ideas

Support your brothers and sisters in recovery, when they speak, hear them, as you would like to be heard for their daily struggles are the same as yours. Remain humble, but remember, due to your suffering, (the hotter the fire the purer the gold) you have earned the same respect as anyone else. Practice forgiving yourself, it becomes easier to forgive your brothers and sisters. As you learn to love yourself, so you learn to love others. If you make a mistake, apologize to those you may have harmed, but by all means, be sure to keep moving. Walk proud, with integrity and your head held high because not only have you survived but you have also chosen to help others and that makes you heroic.

If you are good on the computer, try a new program. If you’re an artist, try painting something you always wanted to paint. If you are a musician, songwriter, or singer, join the Recovery Band. If you are good at managing an office, maybe check into taking a course, or applying for a new job. Seek out leaders who believe in you. By devoting these next 30 days to doing whatever it is you do best, we can’t guarantee success. We can assure that by ‘Empowerment Day’, (the 30^th of this month) you’ll feel better about yourself, and hopefully want to work harder towards your recovery.

Gerald Butler

Peer Support Specalist