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Find it. Do it. Share it.
Submitted by:
Keris Myrick

About 8 years ago I found it. Within the year I did it and in now I would like to share it. But first, with your permission, I am going to change the title of my story to: “Find it! Do it! Share it!” as that’s just how Keris is – exuberant and yes even some say charismatic.
When I moved to California, I was initially engrossed in work, attending graduate school and just trying to make it through every day. On one of those days, a girlfriend exclaimed: “Hey Keris, we are going to Disneyland for our birthdays – just us grown-up girls!” You see our birthdays fell within days of each other and she noticed that I was not my cheery self. What better place to go when you’re feeling down but to the happiest place on earth! What a worse place to be when you realize you are the saddest person at the happiest place on earth!

It was shortly thereafter that I was hospitalized for clinical depression. After a nearly 3 week stay in hospital, I was feeling better and discharged with a list of organizations to contact for support. One of the organizations I contacted was the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

It was late in the evening and I walked into a room of older women and I questioned if I was in the right place. “Is this the NAMI Care & Share meeting”, I inquired. A lovely woman with a kind face responded – “yes it is, are you a family member”? What an odd question, of course I am member of my family, I thought.  Well, she wanted to know was I the person diagnosed with a mental illness (consumer) or was I a loved one supporting a family member with a mental illness (family member). When I told her my circumstances – she immediately welcomed me in.

I later learned that the meeting I attended was for ‘family members” only, but through the kindness of one person, I was welcomed in at a time when I needed to be around others. That was the start of my involvement with NAMI. First, as someone reaching out for support and then shortly after, as someone providing assistance to others.
FIND IT!

As I became more involved with NAMI, I learned that I was not alone. Yet, I was considered one of the lucky ones – I had a very good job, had completed my graduate studies, lived independently and was able to continue with my volunteer work. But what about the adult children of the parents in our NAMI affiliate, where were they? Many around my age and older are not as lucky as I. They fall into the 1/3 of those diagnosed with a persistent mental illness who may not recover fully. Some live at home, others live in Board & Care facilities, some have conservators, yet others are hospitalized for long periods of time or worse yet incarcerated. Let us not forget the other 1/3rd that squeak by on public assistance yet so desperately want to work and lead independent and fulfilling lives. These were truly my peers, those also diagnosed with severe persistent mental illness – yet by sheer numbers (or some would call it “odds”) I was in 1/3rd of the population and they were in the other 2/3rds. I am a numbers person, not a betting person and as one with a mental illness, not about “odds”. I am about people and action.

One year ago, I started an art club through our NAMI affiliate. Now, I know some people might say “art; isn’t that cute.” It is cute, but it is so much more. Remember those statistics in the previous paragraph – those numbers are people. Some lead isolated lives, others just need a place to go other than their Board & Care, while others are seeking opportunities to learn new skills and even give back to others. I envisioned a way to make some of these things a reality for my fellow consumers. The art was just a vehicle, a means to what I call a beginning rather than an end. It created social opportunities – by meeting once a week to work on various art projects together. It was the beginning of training another consumer to co-facilitate the group. The Peer Facilitator has learned new skills that she can include on her job applications. Each Peer Facilitator is provided with a skills list that correlates to the skills that they learn while leading the Art Club.  Our Art Club participants have written poetry that has been included in our NAMI affiliate newsletter.  

About a month ago when our Club met, there was a NAMI Care & Share meeting for families across the hall from our meeting room. We are always mindful of others in the building while we work, but that night the laughter was infectious and we were beyond loud. It was not too long before several heads from across the hall poked into our room. They chimed in unison: ’Hey you all are having too much fun in here….can we join you?”
DO IT!

Yes, they will join us as our Peer Art Club will now be a Family (all inclusive) Art Club for families to come, work and enjoy this time together. The goal is to reach out to more of our younger families and their young loved ones who sometimes get lost in the newness of a mental illness diagnoses. It is an opportunity to rejoice and relish each others company, not so much around our illness, but around our desire for wellness.
The Art Club was just a beginning and a wonderful beginning at that . I have written a guide for other NAMI affiliates or community health care centers to create this very expansive, yet inexpensive, program and it has spread as far as Lake Tahoe California.  Further, my mind is fertile with new ideas – a theatre group, a community garden, hey what about……
SHARE IT!