Finding Respect at Vail Place

by Theresa Dolata

R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Find out what it means to me… RESPECT!  Vail Place is what it means to me as a member who hops between the two clubhouses, Hopkins and Minneapolis and as a member of the Vail Place Board of Directors. Vail Place means RESPECT!

We are members not consumers, not patients, not clients. We are members of a very important community.  A community,where people accept and appreciate one another for who they are, that is Vail Place.

This includes eliminating discrimination and stigma while including protection of rights.  Respect is crucial for our journey on the Road to Recovery.  It is not just about the respect you get from another as part of a community but it is about a respect that comes from within.

When I first came to Vail Place, I had no self-esteem or self-respect.  But the staff and members of Vail Place rallied around me and supported me on that quest for finding and obtaining that self-acceptance of myself as a person with a mental health diagnosis and as a person with many things to contribute to the Community of Vail Place.

I was able to be a vital part not just in this community but to the larger community. The members and staff I work with are all on a journey.  Working together as colleagues enhances the respect aspect at Vail Place.