Penny
She values her family, children, and music…. While her living family members have continued to provide support to Penny, she is quick to note the strength she still gains from the memory of her father….She has three children: a son and a daughter, both in their teens, and a 12 year old daughter…. Penny loves children and hopes that she can prove that she is a capable and loving mother. Read More…
Ashley
Ashley Smith, who is originally from California, spent her childhood with her very close-knit family…She maintains that her strongest tool for maintaining her mental health throughout her daily life is her family and her peer support…. Even through the passing of her mother in 2013, Ashley feels that her family supported her endlessly and she was able to maintain her wellness through this difficult time due to them and her other support systems…. Ashley’s mother was her biggest supporter and Ashley is forever grateful for the way her mother loved and cared for her. Read More…
Andrew
One specific instance occurred when Andrew went to a rock concert with his little brother…. He stuck it out as best he could because he did not want to ruin the experience for his brother but felt worn out for several days afterward…. Though at first his parents had to pay for his medication out of pocket, the expansion of Medicaid has recently allowed Andrew to get better medication with fewer side effects. Read More…
Joseph
His parents tried to get him to see a psychologist, and for a short time, he did…. Mental illness was not something that was largely discussed at the time (1990s and early 2000s), both within Joseph’s circle of family and friends and the general public… This is just one example of the way that his family values laughter and humor in their desire to demonstrate and share positivity… Read More…
Marshall
Marshal was born into a family that includes two sisters…His younger years faced a significant change when his parents divorced, and he and his sisters spent time moving between mother and father…. An important support system through all of Marshal’s experiences is that of his family…His dream is to continue to be good, especially as a brother and uncle. Read More…
Wesley
He says his parents are helpful and inspiring, but he looks up to his brother and sister because they are closer to his age….Wesley is very close with his family, and travelling is one of his favorite activities to do with them…. Social media helps Wesley stay up-to-date with family, but he looks forward to cookouts and family gatherings because it helps him keep up with his family members’ lives….He may even randomly drop in at his grandma’s home to visit with another family member Read More…
Allie
Though they moved multiple times, she lived with her mother for the next ten years… Every year, Allie found herself in a new school, and her mother worked multiple jobs to provide for Allie and her little brother…. Allie’s uncles often came through her home, and she thinks that they and her mother were involved in criminal activity…. Allie was exposed to this activity as well as drugs and describes her childhood as very rough. Eventually, Allie came to the realization that she had to stop trying to save her mother. Read More…
Victoria
Victoria is a dedicated member of her family and the Catholic Church, which is reflected by the time and energy she puts towards those two parts of her life. She also spends a lot of time strengthening her friendships, reading books, and writing and publishing her own articles…She also spends time with her father who is ill, valuing the time she has left with him. Read More…
Jeanne
…While her family and boyfriend are very supportive and understanding, she fears the stigma associated with mental illness and how others would treat her differently if they knew of her mental illness…. Jeanne and her mother have since moved back from Atlanta to Cincinnati to be reunited with the rest of their family. Read More…
Rachel
Her family was unaware that this was happening to her, and for a long time, she felt horrible about herself…. After Rachel reached her low, her parents provided her with a return ticket to the States and welcomed her back into a stable environment….Even now, it is beneficial for her to be in close contact with her parents; they check on her and provide encouragement and support…. Her brother is also a source of support to Rachel…. She does admit, though, that living with her parents at the age of 31 has social impacts. Read More…
Luna
Prior to Luna’s immigration, her parents moved to the United States for work. , At 16 years of age, Luna came to the United States from Mexico in September 1999 and lived with her sister….Around the same time period, she also experienced a head injury… Read More…
Haiho
Despite living in Vietnam during the war, Hai has good memories of life in his home country… When they arrived in the United States, Hai and his family lived in South Carolina and worked on a farm for a while…. During that time, Hai’s two brothers, who had been in the military, came to the United States, and his whole family was reunited…. Hai’s family then moved to Portland, Oregon and, except for college, he has lived there ever since…. … Education is very important to Hai’s family, and all of his siblings have college educations. Read More…
Mary
… After a period of hospitalizations in California, Mary’s husband reportedly decided he did not have the time or the means to take care of her, so her family decided to fly her back to Cincinnati to get her the help she needed…During her eight to ten week hospitalization in Cincinnati, Mary’s mother did pass away…After she was released from the hospital, Mary lived with her brother for a time, but when she became more unstable, she began living in a halfway house… Read More…
Rebecca
…Since she lived alone, this continued for several weeks before members of her family intervened…. However, because she was a social worker and still able to think somewhat rationally, she knew how to respond to the assessments she received. While she told her family about the paranoia and delusions she had, she did not disclose these to the people assessing her…. His family was escaping the war in Lebanon, and Rebecca’s stepdad was a civil engineer assigned to irrigation projects in the Middle East. Read More…
TJ
…He was reared by a relative of his mother’s, and when as an adult he saw his mother shortly before she died, it was for the first time since he was 5 years-old…. T.J. has a grown daughter who was given up for adoption, and she is also much on his mind, in spite of the fact that they have no contact…. There is a history of alcohol abuse in his biological family, and he believes that the propensity has been handed down to him… Read More…
Jason
… Jason had a difficult childhood, filled with abuse at the hands of his father and alcohol abuse throughout his family…Jason describes his family’s alcohol abuse as having a profound negative effect on him, making it difficult for him to think straight…. However, he hesitated for four years before telling his mother what was going on inside of him….Even though they provide support when he goes grocery shopping, Jason’s relationship with his family is still rocky…He describes that most of his family members don’t understand what he is going through and seem to minimize the distress he experiences. Read More…
Robert
…Robert Fischer is a 50 year old man who has enjoyed living in his family home his whole life….He lives there with his mother, sister, two dogs, four cats and fish….He cares very much for his mother and three sisters, helping them out whenever he can, but his desire to help others is not limited to family members….During Robert’s interview, he elaborated on the enjoyment he receives from helping others, whether they are family members or members of his local community. Read More…
Miss Harris
She was one of eight children and the youngest of the five girls in the family…. Throughout most of her young life, she lived with her mother, father and four of her siblings…. Eventually she began living with an older boy because her mother and stepfather were sick… She finally found her way back home and was welcomed by her family with open arms…Although her current dream is to pursue psychology, in the past her dream was to work in construction so that she could build a house for her mother. Read More…
Rick
… Lack of relationships with others, particularly family, is a strong theme in Rick’s story, and this started in childhood…When Rick was 10 years old, he was removed from his mother’s home and placed in foster care…. Then, as an adult, he found out that his mother had died, so he wanted information about what happened to her…. Having been told that the woman he thought was his mother was not his mother, he now questions most things about himself…. Read More…
Fonda
She was adopted as an infant to a mother who became an abusive alcoholic and a father who was kind, but whom she describes as a workaholic… Read More…
Chris
As the tenth child, Chris was born to a large family in Cincinnati…Then, his straight-A status began to slip as he experienced family issues at home: his parents separated…. Chris remembers noticing that he was the only African American individual around; the family he lived with, and the neighbors were Caucasian. Read More…
Vickie
…. Vickie described having problems as a new mother, making all kinds of mistakes, and she was diagnosed with postpartum depression….. Read More…
Amber
… Amber is 33-years old, and was born into what she called, a bad, bad family, in which alcohol and drug addiction were prevalent… Out of the four children in the family, Amber was the only one put up for adoption—something for which she is now grateful…. Her adoptive mother has been her greatest ally… Read More…
Mindy
…Mindy has great memories of her childhood and a close relationship with her mom and sister…Her family moved around a lot when she was young…. She remembers her brother physically molesting she and her sister and the impact this had on her family…. Mindy is working on getting her driver’s license, with help from her younger sister, so she can help out her mom. Read More…
Derrick
During his early years, he and his two sisters were physically abused by his drug and alcohol abusing mother and her boyfriends…. And the final act that occurred before he was removed from the home was his mother coming after the children, and injuring his sister, with a butcher knife. Read More…
Ronald
…The memory of his grandmother is especially dear to Ronald…He has little contact with his five brothers and six sisters, and his mother died when he was nine years-old…. He was reared by his grandmother and when asked to talk about one of his best memories, he spoke of her. Read More…
David
…David is a 25 year old, single man who was interviewed in Cincinnati; however, he grew up in Wisconsin, where his parents still live…Once sober, his parents encouraged him to come to Cincinnati to engage in Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET). Read More…
Timothy
He is the father of six children and grandfather to seven…. When this happens, he does not call his family or friends, and opts to stay home all the time. Read More…
Susan
She attributes her wellness to many things: supportive family and church members, her faith in God, an effective medication regime, and a gifted psychiatrist… Read More…
