Alright alright. I told you soon come (like 2 weeks ago). Here it is. We might be getting internet at home though, by the way. woot!
Committee for Upliftment of the Mentally Ill is the organization I’m working with. They have a small day center downtown for people with mental illnesses. Most of the clients are outpatients referred to CUMI by hospitals. Some have been homeless or in prison for much of their life. CUMI’s goal is to “facilitate physical emotional and psychological rehabilitation for mentally ill clients within the environment of a therapeutic daycenter. ”
A Typical Day at CUMI
When the clients arrive in the morning (they are free to come and go when they please), they first shower out back, wash their clothes and change. At 8:30 we have devotions (about a 1/2 hour of singing and making a lot of noise with musical instruments) and breakfast at 9:00. The clients then each have chores to do, either cleaning, gardening, deliveries, etc. Lunch is at 12:00 and home time at 3:00. Other than that, it’s April’s job to plan activities for the clients, which can be harder than it sounds. Motivating the clients to want to do anything besides sit on the porch is a challenge in itself, and resources are scarce. However, one game that nobody seems to ever get bored of is dominoes.
Oh man. Let me tell you. I have never played this game more in my life, or met so many people that were so good at this game… or knew that it involved any kind of strategy whatsoever. Ludy (Lukey, Looney..?? it has many names that I’m not sure how to spell) is another favourite. Its very similar to SORRY, and can get intense.
CUMI also has a children’s program that aids “children in families, or foster homes identified by CUMI, who are experiencing social, mental and learning disabilities.” Many of the children had parents with mental illnesses, have been abandonned or neglected at a young age and have been adopted by foster parents. CUMI has been with many of the kids from a young age as well, and provided them and their families with professional counselling, education in the top schools, and all kinds of support. I get the exiting job of travelling around to the different schools the kids are at (sometimes I take 5 taxis a day – which is an art in itself) and take them out of class for an hour of tutoring, and help them in whatever struggles they are facing. The kids range from 8 years to 16 years of age so I get quite the variety. I’m surprised by how quickly I’ve become attached to and protective of them. For some of them it means being a disciplinarian (haaaaaaaaa jokes… I’m getting good at being dead serious) and working on their behaviour. I’ve met with some of the kids behaviour therapist and got some tips/strategies. This week I went to see some of them in action in their karate lesson which was impressive- a couple of them have their black belts. So needless to say I’m really enjoying my work here!
