Patrick's story | Vail Place

Patrick grew up in southwest Minneapolis. His parents still live in Minneapolis. He says he was always the kind of person who worked at tasks his own way, with views often at odds with society’s norms. For example, even as a long-distance runner in high school, he often wished the team could run practice on days when weather was better, and not when they were told to.

As Patrick got older, he began experiencing difficulties and problems. He says, however, “I was in denial that this could be a serious mental health issue.” He couldn’t get work very easily, and wasn’t able to keep jobs that he did get. He was at times too disorganized. Patrick was hired to work at a bookstore, but not full time, and for some weeks on an ad hoc basis. He would start working with therapists to deal with what he terms “emotional problems,” but refused to accept that his struggles might be connected to a mental illness. He would start therapy but then take a break of two sessions because he wasn’t getting what he had hoped for—the ability to get and work at a full-time job. He even considered moving away from the Twin Cities to get a fresh start, or run away from the depression of living in the same city where he’d had so many difficulties..

Even with his struggles, Patrick had a lot of activity going on. He worked in the peace movement in the Twin Cities, was a member of the Honeywell Project, and worked on the nuclear freeze campaign. He even was a speaker once or twice in small groups advocating for nuclear disarmament.

At one point Patrick was using shelters, staying briefly with friends, and uncertain where to sleep next week. He was trying to figure out how to find a place to live with his very limited income, always thinking, “I’m in trouble here.” Patrick gradually accepted that he has a chronic mental illness. He began working with a person at Northside Community Support Program, who helped him make plans to improve his living situation. He qualified for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and finally had enough money to rent an apartment for himself. He also began taking a low dosage of medication to help him deal with his symptoms.

In 2005 he found Vail Place. One of the best things about Vail Place is just talking and socializing with others who understand him better than the general public. He appreciates being able to be straightforward about having a mental illness without the stigma and misunderstanding that he sometimes experiences in the wider community. Patrick also appreciates the breadth of social activities Vail Place offers. He often has an interest in attending these things, but on his own doesn’t get around to actually making time to schedule. He laughs and says that over the years he’s learned to plan some aspects of his life, but finds he has “less structured concepts” about life than people with a planned-out life.

His recovery from mental illness continues every day. Patrick says Vail Place helped him come to terms with not achieving the full-time job or career calling of his dreams, but being okay with recovering enough to live on his own and seek work at a part-time job. He also participates in politics, having just worked on both the recent Klobuchar and Obama campaigns. “A semblance of a normal life” is how Patrick terms it. He offers this insight to those who are just learning about their own mental illnesses: “It always takes some time to get to know the best way to recover. There is no one best way; each person has to find his or her own path.”