Steve Ramsland's Blog Buckelew Programs

To Be of Use…

Although I majored in English (& Psychology) in college, I have to admit that I don't read a lot of poetry.  But my wife does, and the other night she read me a poem that just floored me.   Written by American poet, novelist, and social activist, Marge Piercy ("Circles on the Water," 1982), "To Be of Use" speaks to me in so many ways about my own experience of work, as well as what I hear from our clients and staff.  Here it is:

To Be of Use, a poem by Marge Piercy

 The people I love the best

jump into work head first

without dallying in the shallows

and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.

They seem to become natives of that element,

the black sleek heads of seals

bouncing like half-submerged balls.

 

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,

who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,

who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,

who do what has to be done, again and again.

 

I want to be with people who submerge

in the task, who go into the fields to harvest

and work in a row and pass the bags along,

who are not parlor generals and field deserters

but move in a common rhythm

when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

 

The work of the world is common as mud.

Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.

But the thing worth doing well done

has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.

Greek amphoras for wine or oil,

Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums

but you know they were made to be used.

The pitcher cries for water to carry

and a person for work that is real.

Wow!

My doctoral dissertation was on the experience of "flow" in the workplace, those moments in time when you're fully focused and absorbed in your work.  Tools are ready to hand, time passes in a flash, and you find yourself performing to the best of your abilities.  These are transcendent moments, and yet they're available to all of us, in everyday work experiences.  With just the right balance of skills and challenges we're all able to harness ourselves, pull like water buffalo and submerge in the tasks of life. 

A client/trainee in one of our social enterprises wrote to us of his recent experience at work.  Previously disconnected from the workforce with issues of depression and low self esteem, he wrote of how his work with Buckelew helped him to acquire new skills, find what he does well and, in his words "work at my own capacity, and challenged a bit to go further as well.  This made the time at the cafe move quickly as I was able to enjoy the responsibilities given to me and work with others at the same time.  I come away from this feeling more confident in myself and ready to face more challenging situations.  This is a vast improvement over where I had started 4 months ago...I am thrilled that I had a chance to 'show my stuff'."  What a wonderful example  of a supported, social enterprise experience helping a person with mental health challenges to advance his wellbeing and feel what it's like "to be of use."   "The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real."

Sustainable Livelihoods: Linking Mental Health & Economic Development

     Buckelew Programs recently hosted a community forum led by my friend, Richard Dougherty, the President of BasicNeeds US, on cross-cultural issues in the delivery of mental health services in developing nations of Africa and South Asia. I’m constantly looking for ways to reach out and engage members of our community in a shared process of learning, exploring, and developing new and innovative approaches to providing services and supports to youth, adults, and older adults with mental illness. So I thought it might be interesting to hear what BasicNeeds is doing in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Ghana or Uganda, and compare their approach with what Buckelew is doing here in Marin, Sonoma and Napa.

     While many of us here in the US have been touched in some way by mental illnesses, we’re fortunate that we don’t face the devastating hardships of poor people with mental illness who are living in parts of the world without access to mental health services of any kind. I learned, for example, that it is not uncommon in parts of Africa and South Asia to chain a person with mental illness to a tree—often as a desperate attempt by loved ones to keep their family member out of harm’s way in the absence of accessible and appropriate mental health services. BasicNeeds is working in developing nations to build local capacity for mental health services that reduce symptoms, promote recovery, sustainable livelihoods, and integration in households and communities.
    

Despite the vast differences in culture and resources between the Bay Area and developing nations in Africa and South Asia, I was really struck by the vision shared both by Buckelew and BasicNeeds of creating opportunities for people with mental illness to live, work, and lead more sustainable, engaged lives in their communities. I liked BasicNeeds’ approach of explicitly linking mental health and financial development, of enlisting natural supports and social networks in the community—as well as mental health treatment—to aid mental health consumers with their recovery. Their attempts to develop “sustainable livelihoods” echo Buckelew’s drive to create more jobs and economic opportunity through our supported employment programs, our social enterprises, and our planned financial literacy and savings program.
    

We know that for people with mental illness—here, as well as in Africa—poverty is one of the most pervasive, significant, and debilitating barriers to achieving recovery and full participation in the community. And so we go beyond providing essential mental health services to also create homes, jobs, and—ultimately—hope for those living with mental illness.

Rethinking Mental Health Employment Services to Create Real Jobs

Buckelew has been honored to have been selected as a Finalist in an international competition on Rethinking Mental Health Services.   The competition was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Ashoka's Changemakers.

A prestigious panel of judges reviewed more than 340 inspiring solutions to improving mental health services from 42 countries, and they selected a group of 12 finalists for their vision, impact, and unique approach.    Buckelew’s finalist submission was entitled:  “Rethinking Mental Health Employment Services to Create Real Jobs:  Blue Skies Personnel Services.”   

Blue Skies Personnel Service is a full-service, non-profit employee staffing entity that places people with mental illness into direct-hire jobs in the community.  It was established as an innovative strategy for overcoming mental health stigma in the workplace so that more clients could obtain competitive employment.  Studies show that although 70% of people with mental illness want to work, only 15% are employed. The majority of people with serious mental illness in the US have incomes below the poverty level. A big hurdle to employment is the stigma associated with mental illness, and traditional mental health employment approaches have failed to surmount those challenges, resulting in such low rates of employment and income.

Small businesses comprise the vast majority of local employers. Most do not have professional HR departments, and rely on staffing services for hiring and general HR needs. By forming our own staffing service, we gain direct access to companies that might employ our clients. Professional job developers work with employers to identify their staffing needs, and then introduce qualified job candidates to the employer, assisting the client with the interview process. Once hired, job coaches provide a quality assurance role, working with the employer and client to ensure the success of the placement. HR specialists provide ongoing consultation and training to the employer. 

Blue Skies Personnel Services "rethinks mental health" by marketing itself as a professional HR staffing service, and not a mental health program. It's outreach staff are marketing and sales people who have been trained in working with mental health clients, not traditional mental health professionals who may be comfortable working with clients but are not adept at working with businesses.

In the year prior to starting Blue Skies Personnel Services, Buckelew Programs placed 17 people with mental illness into jobs in the community. In every year since, we have placed between 75 and 93 people into real jobs--over 400 individuals in the past 5 years!  Our reputation as a reliable staffing service for small employers has grown, and a dozen local employers serve on our Employer Advisory Council. We are the preferred staffing service for our local Staples, Home Depot, and others. The clients placed into employment have, on average, increased their income by over 45%.

So why is it important to help people with mental illness to get--and keep--real jobs?  Because like most people, people with mental illness feel better about themselves when they are engaged in some form of meaningful occupation.  Research suggests that people with serious mental illness who are working report higher self esteem and self-confidence than non-working peers.  They seem to be better able to manage symptoms and improve their social skills and presentation to others.  They begin to lead more satisfying, sustainable lives among others in the community.  As one of the Rethinking Mental Health competition judges wrote:  "This initiative deserves widespread recognition for its excellent approach.  It really takes on the issue of stigma and provides opportunities for work.  It helps recovering patients manage their on-going illness as part of the workplace."

Blue Skies Personnel Services is just one approach to helping consumers to obtain employment, and employment is just one component of helping people with mental illness to successfully manage their illness and recovery.  Future postings will take a look at these, and other important aspects of mental health wellness and recovery, sustainability, social enterprise,  news and innovations from Buckelew.