My Journey into recovery cannot be told without some account of my struggles with mental illness.  When I was a senior in high school, I lost my best friend to a terminal illness and fell into a deep depression.  I went on to college and continued to experience extreme sadness and despair.  Putting one foot in front of the other, I moved on with my life. I attended Montana State University on scholarship for one year.  After completing my first year at MSU, I had an opportunity to attend at Texas Tech University where I graduated with Cume lade honors and a Bachelor of Science in Clothing, Textiles, and Merchandising.  While I attended the University, I worked 35 hours a week at a major retailer and managed 15 credit hours in school.  I was awake for days at a time and did not think much of it.  After all, this was “college life”.  I also continued to experience periods of overwhelming sadness and despair which I attributed to being separated from family in Montana.

Consumers Asserting Leadership in Montana (CALM4us) has been engaged in working as a group of mental health consumers to establish our own membership organization. Activities have included telephone and webex conferences to learn: about other state consumer organizations; to consult with national technical assistance centers; to discuss and write a statement of vision, mission, goals and values; and, to develop our ideas about what and how to provide information and support to Montana mental health consumers.

We have shared our expertise to learn how to put together a functional corporation and have had representatives at state and national conferences about mental health consumer issues. We have learned how to set up and use a Joomla driven website to give ourselves and other Montana mental health consumers a place to share our stories; ideas about wellness tools; personal responsibility strategies; self-advocacy tools; educational opportunities; provide a place where they can give and get support; learn how to build effective support systems outside of the mental health system; and, how to use the services provided by the mental health system in a way that they direct.

To become a member simply register.   To find out how to register read on. 

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By Sandra G. Boodman
Washington Post Staff Writer