Well the mandatory trainings of my job are moving right along. I just finished 2 days of training in crisis intervention, to be used if necessary, for folks who exhibit acting-out behaviors that can escalate into more than just verbal confrontations with their peers or with our staff of health care providers.

Everyone employed by my community service board (over 600 employees) must take this training whether they will have a lot of direct contact with certain consumers of mental health services or not. I will be involved with people of course; however, I will not be at one facility all the time. I will be traveling about between counties and teaching classes, etc.

I'm not really nervous at this point about all the possibilities that can most certainly arise, which warrant training such as the intervention training I've just received. Everything we learned focused on non-violent forms of physical intervention and protective measures. Our board has used a particular program for over 12 years now, and very seldom in those years have extreme measures had to be taken with any client, such as two-arm holds and such. Gone are the days of seclusion, deprivation of any kind, or throwing people to the floor face down. Those measures are forms of negelct and abuse, and are not tolerated in most mental health systems across the nation. Nowadays, because of gained knowledge of what works and does not work with human beings, anxiety levels can be caught before things escalate into an individual acting-out with their peers or staff members. Much of the knowledge gained has to do with respect for individuals regardless of their level of development or the mental illnesses they may be facing. 

My job as an liaison between consumers of mental health services and mental health providers who do not themselves live with a mental illness, will place me with the people who are seeking to understand unmet needs of those who desire to be well against all odds. People with various levels of mental retardation will only be as well as they can be developmentally. I will not be attending to those groups as often, except for those folks who are developmentally able to make decisions for themselves and who also have a diagnosis of mental illness. Although I will most definitely be working around many different groups of people within the mental health system, other than those with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders.

I am the manager of "Turning Point". The vision of my supervisors at present, is one of a facility separate from the community service board, which will be a non-profit organization for people with mental illnesses of varying degrees. Our people will seek to remain emotionally well and stay in recovery; which is to manage our illnesses as we work to live our lives to our highest potential. People with mental illnesses need to know they deserve the same opportunities within their communities as do those who have physical illnesses. With help, I hope to organize a haven for those who do not have a place to feel welcomed; a creative healing center for those who seek that freedom; and support groups with advocates who focus on particular issues to help relate significant needs of people to legislature.

Turning Point is exactly that; a place for people who are ready to take the turn for the betterment of their lives. Wish me luck as on I go...