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How my Past became my Future
Every day as I walk in the door to my work, I'm reminded of my past. You see, I
once was homeless and as a consequence of that I used to sleep in the outside
doorway of the very building where my current place of employment is now
housed. For the biggest part of my life, I've suffered from mental illnesses. I
self-medicated for many years but finally reached the point where I needed
help. With assistance from the "payee program" at Welcome House in Covington,
Ky., I was able to get the professional help I needed and start taking the
proper medications for my illness. Over the course of several years, I slipped
into complacency with ease. The only thing I thought I needed to be doing was
to keep myself under control and not cause any problems. Fortunately for me,
somebody came up with the notion that people with mental illnesses could do
MORE than just be 'mentally ill'! My payee suggested that I might want to
look into a program they have called "Job Club" and, even though it was a very
scary step, I took her advice. My job coach helped me in my journey of deciding
what kind of job I would like and assisted me in a multitude of ways including
how to handle interviews and how to deal with the disappointment of not getting
a job I thought I really wanted. Approximately 7 months after I first joined
the job club I landed my job here at Recovery Network. My job title is Peer
Employment Associate. I'm now able to give back a little bit to the community
which has been serving me for years. We assist consumers with mental illness
who feel that they are ready to start on their own path to employment. Everyone
who works here at RNNK is a consumer. I believe this gives us a great advantage
in assisting our peers because we can UNDERSTAND where they are coming from.
Each client works at their own pace in whichever area they choose. Our
services range from helping with 'social skills', GED training, computer
tutorials on various programs, an online guide to "mental health disorders
& treatments" and job/housing searches. In addition, we offer a wide
variety of services that are all geared toward support and encouragement. At
the current time we are working on a section for our library devoted to
understanding your benefits if your on SSI or SSDI , along with information for
those who are trying to re-enter the work force and how that might affect your
current benefits. As for myself, my job gives me a feeling of self-worth,
pride and self-esteem that had been missing in my life all this time.
Sheri Hyden
Peer Employment Associate
Recovery Network of N. Ky.
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