Julie Plante grew up rooting for the underdog. A registered nurse and Vail Care’s Nurse Manager for Integrated Care, Julie has had a passion for social justice work since she was in her early teens. Diagnosed with mental illness at the age of nine, Julie...
Member Spotlight: Jude Rehabilitation in returning to Vail Place Drugs, alcohol, depression, ADHD, anxiety. These were everyday struggles for a troubled man named Jude, struggles that had plagued him most of his life. He had been in and out of hospitals, halfway houses and chemical dependency treatments...
My name is Gwen R. and I am a member of Vail Place. I first said no to ever talking about Vail Place because I have severe general anxiety, severe social anxiety, and depression. But … I want to talk to you … so damn this anxiety …...
A path to purpose and happiness
When Lori “Mish” Megow celebrated her 11th anniversary Vail Place member this year, her life felt more stable and full of purpose than it had throughout the two-decade span of her career in finance. In spite of struggling with severe anxiety and depression since her teen years, Lori had worked her way through college and remained employed in her field, although she bounced from job to job as her anxiety worsened. Eventually, her symptoms forced her to quit.
Lori first looked into volunteering with Vail Place at the suggestion of another member she met through a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) class. After Lori met with Vail Place staff, they suggested she consider becoming a member due to her own struggles with mental illness. At the time, Lori didn’t see her mental illness as “serious enough” to become a member. However, the consequences were there. Because people didn’t fully understand what was going on in Lori’s life, she lost many of her friends after experiencing a major breakdown. Although she was under the impression that she was merely on a leave of absence, she had, in fact, been let go from her job.
“Carol” has lived with schizoaffective disorder for most of her adult life, and although she has maintained independent living with in-home supports for much of that time, she has few connections with family or friends, and she typically presents in public with rambling, tangential speech...
‘A Community of Total Honesty and Trust’ Clubhouse member and rapper Danny Evans sings the praises of Vail Place Danny Evans admits he was reluctant about joining the Hopkins Clubhouse. However, since becoming a member in April 2017, his life has been transformed in many ways. Danny, who...
Twenty years ago, Vail Place member Fiona K. could barely will herself to leave the front steps of her home, much less socialize or talk in front of a group of people. That was before she found Vail Place. According to Fiona, Clubhouse has transformed...
The Vail Place Clubhouse has adult members of all ages, with membership lengths ranging from just a few years to decades. Thomas C. has been active within Vail Uptown for the last three years. In that relatively short time frame, he says the Clubhouse has...
After many years of struggling with mental illness and substance abuse, member Ralph finds hope and a new community at Vail Place. Ralph Coleman likes to tell a joke. “Why was the skeleton afraid to cross the road? Because he didn’t have any guts!” Guts are...
