Chelan-Douglas Regional Support Network/
Prepaid Health Plan

With help to repair the many broken pieces of their lives, thousands of people with serious mental illnesses are now living in communities with more independence than they and their families once thought possible.

They are people just like Jimmy, a middle-aged poet and artist with schizoaffective disorder, who lives in his own apartment, shops and cooks for himself, and enjoys the company of his friends and neighbors.  They're like Yolanda, a young mother coping with schizophrenia, who is learning to take good care of her new baby and manage her own money.  And they're like Mark, a television reporter who is again succeeding in his work and reconnecting with others after being hospitalized for clinical depression.  With the support of a caring community and years of help recovering his work skills, Mark has now earned a degree in journalism and is realizing his dream of producing documentary films.

Like millions of Americans coping with the symptoms of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other serious mental disorders, these individuals and their families are reclaiming the many aspects of their lives affected by mental illnesses - their ability to work; find decent, affordable housing; manage their money; maintain as much independence as possible; and live as fully participating members of their communities.

Today, with the support of comprehensive community services reaching well beyond essential medical care, these people and thousands like them are putting the pieces of their lives back together.

"I just want to be part of the community like everyone else.  Now I have a sort of independence I never had before," says Jimmy.

Yolanda says, "I want to be a good parent to my baby.  With help, I'm learning that even though I have a mental illness, I can do it."

And Mark describes his recovery this way: "I never expected to get better, but in my community I have found the miracle of hope."

Although recovery may not mean returning to the lives they knew before they became ill, with appropriate medication and a wide range of services tailored to their needs, most people with serious mental illnesses can significantly reduce the impact of their illness and find a measure of achievement and independence.

Next

Crisis Line - 509-662-7105 or 1-800-852-2923

Copyright © 2006 Chelan-Douglas Regional Support Network. All rights reserved.  Webmaster