The "good news" and the "bad news" is more than a joke; it can be the balance between the bitter and the sweet, the poignant and the ironic experiences of members of our community. As a peer specialist on an ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) team, my focus plainly and simply will be on the "good news." This is not the kind of news you'll read in a major newspaper or magazine. No, this is the "good news," that, at best, gets printed on a back page, if at all.
S. is a quiet, shy and very sweet man. His "disability" (as he refers to it) has kept him an isolated and lonely person. More than anything, he wants to fit in and lead a "normal life." Recently, S. was forced to move from the living situation he had been in for many years. This move brought many changes for him and he has had difficulty adjusting to the new neighborhood. He used to walk miles in his old neighborhood; but his new locale does not always seem safe to him.
One day, as I was escorting him to a dental appointment, he mentioned to me that he felt he needed more exercise. We brainstormed. I asked him if he liked biking. S's face lit up and he told me stories about how he had loved riding his bike (not just as a kid, but even as a grown man).
As "luck???" would have it, one of the other team members mentioned getting some furniture for another client through the Salvation Army at a great price. I asked if he knew where to get a used bike… (need I say more?) Twenty-five bucks from service dollars got S. a used ten-speed and a helmet.
We had not affected a cure for S., but the smile on his face, as he helped get the bike out of my car certainly constitutes a mention in the "good news."
Mary Speed is a consumer who has worked with the Pederson Krug ACT --- Assertive Community Treatment -- Team for the past two years. Members of the ACT Team work in the community as advocates and continued support for consumers.