Lancaster County
Community Mental Health Center
Community Mental Health Center
lancaster.ne.gov
The Midtown Center2966 O Street, Lincoln NE 68510402.441.8150 (formerly the Adams Street Center) |
...a place to grow |
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The Midtown Center is a rehabilitation program for adults with persistent mental illnesses. It is based on the fountain House clubhouse model in New York City. The basic premise of the Midtown Center is that work is important for all people. People with mental illnesses are like anyone else. They need a chance to live up to their potential, to make a contribution, to feel needed.
Another tenet of Midtown Center is member empowerment. People who attend the program are club members who take an active role in all aspects of club operation. Decisions affecting policy as well as day-today operations are made jointly by members and staff.
There are two basic components of rehabilitation at the Midtown Center - social and vocational. Day-to-day club operation requires many tasks, from lunch preparation to answering phones to publishing daily and monthly newsletters. Club members take part in all these tasks (including this brochure), taking on more responsibilities as they feel ready for them. The supportive work environment helps people regain their self-confidence as they learn work skills.
The social component exists because work alone is not enough. People with mental illnesses are like anyone else - they need to have fun. This need is met through evening and weekend activities offered by the Midtown Center. Club members and staff decide on weekly activities ranging from talent shows to relaxing with popcorn and the VCR.
"I have discovered that when I attend Midtown Center I no longer have to apologize for my existence. People accept me for what I am, including my handicap. "
"All my friends are wondering what's so exciting that I'm leaving the house for the first time in four years instead of sitting home watching TV."
"What I like best about the Midtown Center is that I get treated like a human being. People show me that they care, and that's refreshing after what I've been through -- what we've all been through. "
The Midtown Center is a program of the Community Mental Health Center of Lancaster County.
People often fear what they don't understand. Mental illness is one of the least understood illnesses, consequently, it is one of the most feared. Some people think they should fear people with mental illnesses because they are unstable and dangerous. In fact, people with mental illnesses, as a group, are no more dangerous than anyone else.
Part of the problem stems from incorrect portrayals in fiction. Scaly movie monsters of yesteryear have been replaced by ex-mental patients in hockey masks. Such images reinforce the belief that people with mental illnesses are dangerous.
It's helpful to remember real people who have overcome their illnesses. Think of Patty Duke, not Norman Bates. Think of Abraham Lincoln, not Jason in "Friday the 13th."
Some news stories also contribute to the stigma by identifying criminals as former mental patients, even though the criminals in question are also former high school students or gas station attendants. Singling out the person's role as a mental patient reinforces the image of people with mental illnesses as unstable and dangerous.
How can we fight the stigma? By keeping in mind that people with mental illnesses are people. The illness represents just a fraction of who they are. They are people with an illness, but they are also sons, daughters, wives, husbands, friends and employees. They have a disability just as people with diabetes or cerebral palsy have disabilities. Like them, people with mental illnesses can overcome their disability and be productive members of society - if we let them. The biggest disability involved with mental illness is the way people treat people who have it.