“Recovery has been good for me, thanks to Community Access. I don’t feel the stigma of being mentally ill, and what I’m learning here means the world to me,” says Myrtho Jolibois, a participant at East Village Access—our new mental health program that helps people with psychiatric disabilities set and reach goals in the areas of employment, education, housing, health and social opportunities.
Born in Haiti, Myrtho spent much of her childhood living in rural villages in Africa, constantly on the go with her parents who were physicians working for the United Nations World Health Organization. “I wasn’t able to establish roots, or make friends, because we moved almost every year. But, I really valued seeing places in the world at a very early age that most people never experience in a lifetime.”
At 19, Myrtho moved to New York City to pursue a fine arts degree. “I was thankful that my aunt lived here, and a few years later my sister and her husband moved to the city. I had a career, a place of my own—and, for the first time in my life, everything seemed possible.”
In her mid-twenties, Myrtho began experiencing what she now describes as “weird dreams.” “I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I had a breakdown, and there are months of my life that are still a blank. I lost my job and all contact with my family and friends. I was alone, living inside of a nightmare. They said I was catatonic, and when neighbors found me wandering the streets, they had to call the police who took me to the hospital, and I stayed there for over six months.”
Myrtho very candidly shares that she is still recovering from a schizophrenia affective disorder, and that healing is something that she takes a day at a time. “I went from having everything, to having nothing, and it took me many years and several hospitalizations before I realized that it was possible to take control of my life again—to find a home, to be with my family, to have hope.”
Community Access has been a resource and support system for Myrtho for nearly a decade. For 8 years, she was a member of our clubhouse, and today she is a participant in East Village Access, our curriculum-based PROS program (Personalized Recovery Oriented Services) that helps adults with mental illness identify their strengths, overcome barriers, and build skills for self-directed living.
“One of my biggest challenges since my breakdown is that I always want to be by myself. At East Village Access, the classes are helping me open up and learn how to socialize. This is one of my goals. Another goal is to go back to school. And another one is to help other people with mental illness. I have a lot of goals!”
Family, neighbors, teachers, friends are a few of the words that Myrtho uses to describe the people of Community Access. “I’m grateful that you are here as a place for solace and learning. You are my heart.”