FHR NBN Employee Addresses Massachusetts State House Breakfast
Back row, left to right: Bob Rousseau, Beth Folcarelli, and Joe Dziobek
Front row, left to right: Kim Mello and FHR NBN Consumer
The introduction of a new, dynamic website (www.fellowshiphr.org) has been on the minds of administration at Fellowship Health Resources for some time now. With regional offices in seven states along the Eastern seaboard and over thirty-five years of service to our community members, one of the goals of this new site is to showcase the incredible people we are fortunate to work with, and provide quality, compassionate, mental health services to. Our most exciting venture is the ability to highlight these individuals and their successes through video. One such success story is Robert Rousseau, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist in our New Bedford Office. (To view Bob’s video, click here.)
It was through this vehicle, an online viewing of his inspiring success story, that Bob was invited to share his personal story of lived experience at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) Southeastern Area Citizens Legislative Breakfast on February 9, 2010, in the Great Hall of the State House. According to the DMH, The Citizens Legislative Breakfast is a venue where constituents and their families, as well as Area citizen advisory board members, staff and providers, and local legislators meet. The occasion also gives those in attendance the opportunity to thank the legislators for their support, and for the Southeastern Area to showcase the many services it provides to individuals with serious mental illnesses. Legislators in attendance at the February 9 Breakfast included Barbara Leadholm, Governor Patrick’s Commissioner of Mental Health, Senator Mark Pacheco, and Representative Michael Brady.
The true centerpiece of this breakfast is the personal stories that DMH clients and their families share. They, more than anyone, convey the hope and heartache that comes with living with mental illness. Their stories put a face on mental illness and demonstrate that treatment works and that recovery is real. Their stories also serve as a reminder that stigma is pervasive and must be eliminated, and that the power of hope and recovery fortify all the efforts made on their behalf.
Along his road to recovery, Bob has relied on the healing power of music as an aid in achieving positive mental health. Borrowing the melody of a refrain from the liturgical composer, David Haas, he penned his own lyrics to this traditional Hawaiian melody:
We come to tell our story
Of victory in despair
We come to hold out hope
And say We care.
By incorporating music into his message, Bob inspired attendees to renew their commitment of service to persons with psychiatric disabilities. He completed his presentation by identifying three essential elements from his own recovery journey: acceptance, hope, and appreciation. Never lacking in creativity, Bob coined the acronym formed from these elements: “AHA.” Recognizing “AHA” as an exclamation expressing satisfaction and/or triumph, Bob shared his own “AHA” moments throughout his recovery story.
Attending in support of the important message conveyed through the Breakfast and, of course, in support of Bob, were FHR CEO and President, Joseph Dziobek; Beth Folcarelli, FHR Chief Operating Officer, Northeast; Margaret Carroll, FHR Director of Corporate Relations; and Bob’s Regional Director, Kim Mello. Peter Evers, DMH Area Director, served as the Master of Ceremonies. In addition to the poignant stories shared by consumers of mental health services, numerous issues were addressed, including the budget cuts suffered by DMH, the difficult political choice of eliminating specific services for deserving special interest groups, and the importance of finding creative solutions to current difficulties in mental health services.