On Our Own, Together: Peer Programs for People with Mental Illness

Epilogue: Ourselves and Others

259 Epilogue: Ourselves and Others Before I became involved in the Portland Coalition, the PEER Center, and other peer programs, I had spent over twenty years going in and out of hospitals and clinics with severe manic episodes. I had consulted with numerous psychiatrists and therapists, and my life was an endless round of lost family and lost friends, lost jobs and lost homes. When, finally, at the age of forty, I took on the role of peer advocate and started working to help myself and others, I was astonished to find that I finally had a meaningful role in life. I had something to give. I belonged in this world. It has been heartbreaking for me to write about the Portland Coalition and the PEER Center, programs that I helped to start and the two programs that experienced the most turmoil and personal suffering during the COSP study. Nevertheless, although both programs faltered, they are, for now, both still standing. Consumers and our programs are resilient . Perhaps what happened to all of us personally in the COSP multi-site study—consumers, researchers, and federal officers—will be of use beyond the quantitative information that emerges from the study. Perhaps it will lead us to better understand ourselves and others as human beings and fellow travelers. Sally Clay Lake Placid, Florida September 13, 2004 OnOurOwnFinalPages.indd฀฀฀259 4/16/05฀฀฀6:11:01฀PM OnOurOwnFinalPages.indd฀฀฀260 4/16/05฀฀฀6:11:01฀PM ...