Reach Out

 ABLEnews Resource

                                 Reach Out

                                April 1993

                             Table of Contents

                              

Funny Caption Contest (front cover)

  Entry deadline is April 25.

Notices:

AMI Invites You (5)

  The Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Schenectady, Inc. invites mental

  health consumers, families, friends, and service providers to their

  meetings held at 7 PM on the third Thursday of each month at 730 State

  Street. For further information, call the Social Club at 381-3956.

Don't Miss This (5)

  Nida Colon, community food advocate, guest speaker, April 7.

Opinions:

Fire (3)

  "Recently, I was a patient at the Ellis Hospital psychiatric unit. On

  Wednesday March 3, there was a fire on C-3. It was early in the morning

  around 6AM; most of us were having coffee; a few were still asleep. All

  of a sudden, we were rushed down to C-2. I saw the thick black smoke. I

  was in shock. I remember saying: 'Get me out of here!' Having been in

  fires before, as a child, like many other patients on the unit, brought

  back scary flashbacks.

  "We are all grateful to be alive, even though most of us on the unit were

  patients because we had attempted suicide or had suicidal thoughts. We

  really do not want to die, realizing how precious life is. We only have

  one life to live, right or wrong it's the only life we have on earth to

  strive for the good of our family and friends and all mankind, through

  the struggling and the quiet times as well. We should take nothing for

  granted." --Nikki Barbera

Assessments Upon Leaving (7)

  "I first joined Reach Out with hopes of finding a creative outlet in this

  vast wasteland called mental illness. It hurts to be a mental patient.

  For a long time, all my life really, I was blocked on just what right I

  had to concern myself with the arts as a career choice. Was it all

  delusional? The Cultural Events Grant and my responsibilities on the

  newsletter gave me the opportunity to approach this side of myself slowly

  with fellow mental health consumers who also had creative aspirations.

  This and being involved in a new therapy program has given me the courage

  and strong desire to organize my life as an exploration of just what I

  might accomplish centering in balance and harmony. with guidance, on

  interests that I have in number. Writing is not one of them and I would

  like more time and energy for both therapy and, eventually local theater

  groups. To do this, I must resign my post at Reach Out. Wish me luck! --

  Patricia Gibbons

A Personal Point of View: Past, Present, and Future (9)

  "There are some people who say that in a sense, all we have is the

  present, since the past is just a memory and the future is just a dream,

  unknown. But I think that our lives are formed by a combination of our

  pasts, our presents, and our futures, and that how we view these periods

  of time is important to our well being and sense of accomplishment...

  "When I was somewhat younger, I used to think that someday I would

  overcome all my problems and then my real life would begin. It took me a

  while to realize that the experiences I had already undergone were

  valuable, though painful, and that I had been already living my life all

  those years...Life is meaningful, rich, valuable, deepened by the

  experiences, good and bad, that life brings us...All of experience, all

  of life, is valuable." --Dinah Dietrich

Information:

Social Club Update (3)

  "The biggest news out of the Social Club is that we finally have a new

  name for our club! We'll be calling it '"COLLAGE.' As you probably

  know, a collage is created by assembling a variety of materials (e.g.,

  photographs) into a work of art. Since we are a variety of people

  enjoying a variety of activities and we're definitely a work, the name

  is perfect!...So if you hear someone say they go to 'COLLAGE,' you'll

  know that they're talking about the best club in town!...

  "Don't forget; we're at 730 State Street and we're open 5 to 9PM on

  Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 1 to 9PM on Fridays, and Saturdays, 11AM

  to 7PM. Questions? Call us at 381-3956. Hope to see you soon!" 

Bi-Polar Affective Disorder (4)

  "Bi-polar Affective Disorder is a mental illness which involves the

  chemical balance of the brain cells and the central nervous system and

  the thinking processes of the brain.

  "Lithium is a salt found in everyone's body. Some individuals, however,

  do not have enough of this salt in their body, and require a prescribed

  and closely monitored daily supplemental dose." --Ann Marie Romeo

A New Schedule (7)

  "Ellis Hospital Continuing Day Treatment Program recently began a new

  series of groups that are directed at educating consumers in mental

  health...

  "Managing Anger, facilitated by Victor Martini, is held on Wednesday

  mornings. The group is designed to achieve a number of goals. Express-

  ing anger is NOT one of them. There has been so much emphasis put on

  expressing anger in the past that there are very few people who are

  having any problem doing this. Managing Anger will be putting emphasis

  on the emotion itself...

  "Mental Health Education, facilitated by Sharon Shiffman, is held on

  Friday mornings. The group is designed to answer consumer's questions in

  the area of diagnosis, medication, side-effects, symptoms, and treatment

  plans...

  "Cycles of Depression, facilitated by Amanda, is held on Friday mornings.

  The group is designed to educate in how depression works...

  "Consumer Council is held on Friday afternoons. This group is a forum for

  consumers to not only air their grievances but to actively resolve them.

  This group was first set up to address issues at the day treatment

  program, but as the group progressed they began addressing community

  issues as well." --Michael Abair

Funding Crisis May Be Solved by Mental Health Resource Bill (6)

  "There is currently a crisis in mental health funding. There is not

  enough money for mental health to provide the services that we need in

  our community. What has been happening is that money saved from the

  closing of large psychiatric hospitals has not been put back into the

  communities to care for those struggling with mental illness. Instead,

  that money...has been given to the state to reduce its deficit...

  "The Community Mental Health Resources Bill...would not...force closure

  at state hospitals but rather capture the cost of downsizing by the

  state. In other words, whenever hospitals are closed, funding would be

  channelled to community mental health...

  "Schenectady County experienced its biggest influx of mentally ill

  people moving out of state institutions in the mid 1970's when about

  300 Utica State Psychiatric Hospital patients came back to Schenectady.

  To help serve those clients, the state provided 17 doctors, psycholo-

  gists, social workers, and nurses who worked at Ellis Hospital's clinic

  on the state payroll. The number of such shared employees has now

  dwindled to fewer than four...

  "The Mental Health Resources Bill, if it passes, would go far to solving

  our problem. But a spokesperson for Governor Cuomo's office said that New

  York can't afford it. That is why writing to Governor Cuomo would be a

  good idea... --Dinah Dietrich 

  CURE Comment: Let's hope compassionless Cuomo doesn't wind up on the

  Supreme Court. Inasmuch as the Mental Health Resources Bill does not

  appear to rob Peter (institutionalized mental patients) to pay Paul

  (community mental health consumers), but rather a matter of elemental

  justice in preventing money earmarked for mental health from being

  diverted elsewhere, it seems a concept worthy of support. 

  "Write to: The Honorable Mario M. Cuomo, Governor of New York State,

  Executive Chambers, Albany, NY 12224."

The Budget Gourmet [8]

  A recipe for Spanish rice from Ann-Marie Romeo.

Review:

The Diaries Of Anais Nin (8)

  "Anais Nin was born in Paris, and grew up in France and Spain. She

  arrived in America at the age of eleven, having begun her famous diary

  while on board ship. The diary was started as a record of the trip, and

  continued in her new home in America as a refuge for her confidences. Her

  earliest diaries contained numerous letters to her absent father who had

  deserted her. She was to keep a diary all of her life, and it became a

  monumental record of one woman's life, perhaps the longest running

  confessional ever to be published." --Dinah Dietrich

The Work of Judy Grahn, Poet (10-12)

  "Adrienne Rich, fellow poet, writes of Judy Grahn that she 'is a director

  inheritor of that passion for life in the woman poet, that instict for

  true power, not domination, which poets like Barrett Browning, Dickinson,

  H.D., were asserting in their own very different ways and voices.'" --

  Dinah Dietrich

Poetry:

Untitled (6)

  by Anonymous.

One Life to Live (7)

  by Nikki Barbera.

Humor:

Chuckle (3)

  "Overheard from a disgruntled wife to her preoccupied geologist husband:

  'I'm sick and tired of your taking me for granite.'" 

And They Call Me Crazy (4)

  "We are told to spend our money wisely, but yet we have to pay over $700

  a month to share a room with another.

  "We are told not to use drugs because they can harm us, but we pump all

  these prescription drugs without knowing the side-effects. If we learn

  them and complain, we are told we have to accept the bad with the good.

  "We are told that we are responsible for our actions and cannot use our

  illnesses to excuse our behavior, but the media will always say 'he has a

  history of mental illness' when someone is arrested.

  "We are told that we are just like everyone else, but we are referred to

  as 'them,' 'those people," 'the kids,' and 'the clients.'

  "We are told to express our anger, but yet it is inappropriate behavior.

  "We are told we are acting out, but they are just having a bad hair day.

  "We decomp, while they 'aren't feeling well lately.'...

  "Empowerment through independence, but they cut our funds, staff, and

  programs.

  "Use logical thinking we are told, but we can't do what you need because

  Medicaid rules say NO!

  "You get $5000 if you live independently because that is what SSI

  believes it costs for one person to live each month, however a housing

  program collects over $700 to provide those same services.

  "Was I the only one who wondered how long the head of CDPC had to spend

  in the quiet room for hitting that delivery guy?" --Michael Abair

News Article We Would Have Liked to Have Seen (12)

  "Mesopotamian Times...'Fall' circa 4004 BC...According to the latest

  reports, the couple known only as Adam and Eve were evicted from their

  Garden Home yesterday after becoming involved in a landlord/tenant

  dispute...In response to subsequent inquiries as to the cause of the

  eviction, Adam gestured toward his wife, saying: 'Ask her...she can tell

  you all about it.' His only other remark was in response to a question as

  to how the fruit tasted. 'Bitter,' he replied curtly." --Stephen Hutchin-

  son

Also:

A Season for All (3)

  "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under

  heaven..." --Ecclesiastes 3

Untitled (4)

  "When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself

  unable to swim about freely, he begins with a fight which results in

  struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the

  situation is too tough for him.

  "In the same way the human being struggles with his environment and with

  the hooks that catch him. Sometimes he masters his difficulties; some-

  times they are too much for him. His struggles are all that the world

  sees and it naturally misunderstands them. It is hard for a free fish to

  understand what is happening to a hooked one." --Dr. Karl Menninger

County Housing Needs (5)

  for special needs population, April 13.

April 1993 (insert)

  Calendar of events.

                             F.Y.I.

Reach Out is "a monthly newsletter published cooperatively by and

for mental health consumers as a vehicle of information to their

community, as well as providing a format for creative expression

from all contributors." [Reach Out; 730 State Street;

Schenectady, NY 12307; 518-381-3995.]

...For further information, contact CURE, 812 Stephen Street, Berkeley

Springs, West Virginia 25411 (304-258-LIFE/258-5433).