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Julia Youngblood

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Re: Hope. The Early Stage Of Healing
10/8/2006 8:09:02 PM

Hi Bill...Glad I stopped in! Good article regarding Halloween and the haunted house trip! They are correct, people continually need to be educated. You 'd be surprised at how many people are clueless!  Or, maybe you wouldn't! lol!

Anyway, I'd like to back up a couple of posts....regarding the Gauntt story...It brought tears to my eyes because it hit so close to home...A year and a half ago, it could have been Jeff.....now, he has reached a point of no return in his recovery...that point when you cease to have any denial left and you can finally make that commitment to your recovery.  It is a hard place to get to and unfortunately some never do.  I happen to be the most blessed mother in this world because Jeffrey has decided to take charge of his recovery and face his dis-ease head on...His progress has been absolutely astounding!!! This is what I want to tell others....that there really is hope...IF you want to accept help. 

I am so glad to see  you Ally!  And you and Bill interacting...ya had me in tears too! I'm so happy you found each other....I love you guys!  But ya gotta keep the faith!!! Don't give up hope!!!Any way, I know it can be discouraging when there is no help or services available....I don't know why, but Oregon has some good things goin' on...especially in the county I live in....I want to pack you guys up and move  you out here to some warmer weather and services so you all can get the help that you need.  I have room now that all the kids are gone!  Move right into the travel trailer!

Okay, check this.....since Jeff has been out of the hospital (March) he stayed with me until he felt strong enough to make a move...three and a half weeks ago.  During the time he stayed with me, he created a support group within the AA community. He is duel diagnosed so he keeps pretty close to his 12 step programs....he also went to one on one counciling with a LMHC and his psychiatrist.  THEN, he hooked up with the "transition team" through our county mental health. They paid for his bus ticket to get him to Eugene (where all the services are) ...someone met him at the transit station...he stayed in a "shelter"...3 meals a day...showers, laundry etc...4 people to a cabin. Not too bad. From there he got signed up with another program through voc rehab...it pays for everything for him for 6 months while he is doin' the voc rehab...he has his own one bedroom apartment...his caseworker took him shopping and stocked his kitchen, fridge, laundry etc...everything new...linens....all new....phone and utilities included. They pay for a monthly bus pass, a membership to the YMCA....all his meds are covered...he is going to class to get his GED...then in January on to an electricians apprenticeship program. This has all been possible only because Jeffrey decided Jeffrey wanted a life...that he didn't want to live in dumpsters in the pouring rain and walk so many miles with no shoes, there is no skin left on his feet... landing  in jail and not know how he  got there...THIS is the story I want all to hear....my son's story of success and hope!!!

I'll see you guys later...thanks for letting me blab!

Love & Peace,
Julia

"To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers and sisters on that bright loveliness in the eternal."
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Re: Hope. The Early Stage Of Healing
10/8/2006 10:03:38 PM

Hello Julia

    Now this is the kind of story that I just love to hear.

I am so happy for you and your son Jeff I can't even describe it. I can remember a while back when you didn't even know where Jeff was or if he was even alive. Make sure that you tell him that even though I haven't really met him, I am proud to know him and his mother. Let him know that his story will now be read and told to countless others who will see that there is hope. No matter how bad things get there is always hope. There is a lady that I am in touch with right now that has really hit rock bottom and was very very sick. Mentally and physically. She has attempted suicide several times and was just on the verge of doing it again. On top of her depression, she also suffers with anaorexia and she is down to 78  lbs. At that weight, she was very near dying. Well, I think we have her turned around now. She has begun to eat a little. I suggested eating a little baby food and taking some liquid nutrient supplements. Her esophagus and stomach have been damaged to the point where she couldn't swallow regular for or digest it. She has also gotten herself under a DR's care and will most likely be spending a little time in the hospital. The most important factor in her decision was hearing from people who have been where she is and have recovered. I have many friends, like yourself, who help me get a message of hope to people who are suffering. I honestly believe that the stories of those like Jeff are what makes the difference that turns people in the right direction in their lives.

     Julia. Thank You so much for sharing this with us and please make sure that you tell Jeff that he has helped us save a life. Ask him for a little favour for me too if you would. Ask him to write a little note to me here in the forum now and then and let us know how he is doing in his recovery. He can be an inspiration to a lot of people who are hopeless and see no way out of their suffering. Take care Julia and keep us up to date on Jeffs progress. We love you guys.

With All Of Our Love And Blessings

        Bill and Ally

May a smile follow you to sleep each night and,,,,,be there waiting,,,,,when you awaken http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/8212/ShowForum.aspx Sincerely, Billdaddy
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Re: Hope. The Early Stage Of Healing
10/9/2006 12:08:46 PM

Hello Everybody

Here is an example of hope in action. We need more programs like this all over the country and it is going to be up to members of individual communities to gewt them started. Our government is doing next to nothing to help improve our present system of mental health care.

Casa Milagro: A place where hope never loses its footing


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Helen Lane paints a fish made out of canvas, while Jonel Jones takes a break from her drawing and volunteer Dave Hudson works on his own art at Casa Milagro. Lane and Jones say they enjoy the wellness approach Casa Milagro offers to residents with mental illness.
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By Diana Heil | The New Mexican
October 8, 2006

Those with mental illness find sanctuary at group home

The older Melinda gets, the more mental illness seems to throw her life off course.

She's well aware she has several diagnoses, ranging from bipolar disorder to delusional thinking. Yet acceptance doesn't come easily.

When Melinda ran away from home at 18, she stopped taking her medication cold turkey.

Even though her parents tried to help keep her safe by paying rent for an apartment arranged by a mental-health organization, she put herself into harm's way. The landlord kicked Melinda out because of middle-of-the-night parties, damaged property and police visits.

Her parents were stuck paying rent on her empty room. They sold her computer to cover a small portion of the damage.

Melinda could have moved back to her family's comfortable home, but that would have meant taking her medication and following basic rules. For months, she chose instead to tag along with her homeless friends -- people who accept her for who she is because they also have mental illnesses -- and sleep at strangers' homes, homeless shelters, even on the street.


Her parents, Mark and Karen, often lost track of her whereabouts for weeks at a time. "We could give her the moon," her mother said, hurt and bewildered, "but she doesn't want it."

Last month, after a failed suicide attempt, Melinda finally came home and began taking her medication. "We are glad she is finally safe and stabilizing," her mother said. "But it is still no bed of roses."

And there's no telling what's around the corner.

Safe haven

When Lisa Uhlemann, assistant director at Casa Milagro in Santa Fe, hears stories like Melinda's, her jaw doesn't drop one inch. Such behavior is pretty typical, she said matter-of-factly.

Uhlemann holds out hope, no matter how messy a situation gets, because she knows people with mental illness go through phases and that treatment works if they choose it. Eventually, many tire of living on the streets, she said, and grow amenable to other options.

With classical music drifting through light-filled rooms and artwork on every wall, Casa Milagro is Santa Fe's only group home where adults with mental illness can find safety and friendship.

For some, it's their first time living away from their parents. For others, it's a break from living on the streets.

Right now, there's a short waiting list to get into Casa Milagro. But it could take six months or more for an opening because residents live at Casa Milagro as long as they wish.

Located on two acres past the city limits off N.M. 14, the group home offers 12 beds, exercise equipment, an art studio and a new, $2,000 garden out front, thanks to a gift from the Presbytery of Santa Fe.

It operates on a $285,000 budget under The Life Link, a local nonprofit. Residents pay $603 a month in rent, which comes from their Social Security Disability check.

Since Meryl Lieberman opened the home seven years ago, it has been a house of miracles, living up to its name despite lean financial times. One former resident, whose mandalas hang on the walls of Uhlemann's office, is in his third year of college studying computer graphics.

Residents also attest to how the mix of purposeful occupation (community work, college classes, meditation and artwork), as well as fitness, good nutrition, animal companionship -- and the acceptance they feel from each other -- fosters healing.

Jordan Kessler, 24, took a break from playing Star Wars Battlefront to explain what he was like just five years ago, before he moved into Casa Milagro.

He sat on his twin bed, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular, as the water in two fish tanks gurgled and his plump guinea pig, Magic, looked on.

At 15, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It took a four-month hospital stay and a series of experiments with medications before the psychotic episodes quieted down. He was 19 by then, and his parents were exasperated. Kessler said the decision for him to move into Casa Milagro was mutual.

"It was like being thrown into a cold bath," he recalled.

The change was hard at first. But being surrounded by residents and staff who loved him and understood him brought him out of the dark, isolating hole of illness, he said.

Casa Milagro offers a balance of freedom and restriction, he said, so that he is able to gain independence without being totally independent. "It's like this huge growth of maturity and responsibility," Kessler said. "It's almost like having a second life, a new life."

Kessler went from 270 to 188 pounds, passed the General Educational Development test and enrolled in Santa Fe Community College, where he now studies computer science and writes essays about his struggles. He said living well with mental illness is 10 percent medication and 90 percent perspiration.

As a result of his transformed life, Kessler has built a better relationship with his parents. "Coming here has made our relationship tight, tight as it can be," he said. "I needed to grow."



IF YOU GO
What:
Auction of art made by residents of Ca
May a smile follow you to sleep each night,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
and be there waiting,,, when you awaken.
Sincerly, Bill Vanderbilt
Mental Health And Political Forums Respectively
The following link will take you to a program that I gave up on once but, I am now involved with again. Simply because a few friends of mine believe so whole heartedly in this program that they actually kept me in it for several months.
May a smile follow you to sleep each night and,,,,,be there waiting,,,,,when you awaken http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/8212/ShowForum.aspx Sincerely, Billdaddy
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Ally Vanderbilt

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Re: Hope. The Early Stage Of Healing
10/9/2006 8:59:46 PM

Bill,

You are very welcome. I am glad Summer and I are making you happy.  There is never a dull moment EVER lol.

But you know you never have to thank us... just you being the man you didn't have to be is all the thanks we need. 

To finally have someone in my corner helping me fight was / is amazing.  You know I do not know if I could have fought as hard as I did without a coach to "push" me through the hard times.

There were times during my battles and fights... I did just want to give up, because I was tired of seeing Summer hurting.  It was killing me inside. But you showed me something within me that I never knew was there.  You showed me how to fight and stand up for what I believed in and for what was right. JUSTICE!!!!  

I will be comming in often don't worry lol.

With all my love

AllyCat

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Ally Vanderbilt

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Re: Hope. The Early Stage Of Healing
10/9/2006 9:23:23 PM
Juliana,

Hi Honey,

You sound wonderful ;)  great to see you here and I love the news about your son. I am just so happy.

I agree it is amazing how Mental Health has been swept under the rug so to speak. The sting of the stigma is the worst.  That is why I commend Bill for starting this safe,comfortable haven for us where we can talk about our issues and our family.  To seek advice from anyone in here is just a beautiful thing.

 Little Bear Hug...

When I chat with you
I have so much fun
I always feel a bit blue
When our chat is done

Just to let you know that I think of you
Here's a little bear hug from me to you


Love you,

Allycat

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