Bill Britt, Community Member, speaks out about making a difference.
I am a Community Member, and an advocate for persons with disabilities. I started working in the disabilities community and when I started working with people with mental illness I saw I could have an impact. Because stigma and fear are so high, all you have to do is talk and listen to somebody. That had a tremendous impact for people I work with, who have little or no support from their families, communities, governments, etc.
2 things drew me to the MHA Village. The first was executive director Martha Long. When I went to community meetings I would see her there and unlike most officials I see she was approachable. I was impressed by how open minded she was. Whether there was a controversial topic or not she used logic and her goal was not ego, or herself, it was helping people.
The second thing was the peer counseling. Personally I believe that no one knows a condition like someone who has to live with it. The people who have successful navigated the system and moved through the recovery process are the perfect people to help. They have experienced it, the treatment, the medications, and hassles of the system. They have found a way to work the system; we’re all a work in progress.
Hearing from someone who was in the same position and telling them what worked for them can really help people learn. I see compassion at the MHA Village, that I don’t see a lot of in the rest of the system.
As a community member, I also have aspirations to be a helping professional/care provider. I’ve learned from the MHA Village that working with disabled people is not easy. Seeing how they do things, learning from them, learning from the people who work there is very valuable for me and my future business. It’s kind of school for me. I see the MHA Village as a teacher and a place that also connects me and helps me connect to the community resources.
If I could tell people one thing about the MHA Village would tell people to go in and have lunch in the deli. The food is great, the experience is great. There is a stigma against people with mental illness, but there is no reason to be scared or threatened. I feel safe and you will too.
People with mental illness are in everyone’s lives; our cousins, uncles, brothers, etc. Separating them out is wrong. By helping them, we help ourselves.
I got polio as a child and then developed epilepsy when I turned 18. The epilepsy helps me relate to people with mental illness; because if I don’t take my medications I have seizures, but because I take my meds I can function, drive, and operate pretty normally.
I consider myself a former pessimist and recovering couch potato. I used to think one person couldn’t make a difference but then I started getting involved and I proved myself wrong. Now I know I have personally made a different in many lives by getting involved.