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There are Vermonters who experience psychiatric crises for years — and repeated visits to emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals. Where do they go when they leave the hospital? And why do they keep coming back? This is a story about the role housing plays in mental health.
Featuring:
- Ken Libertoff, former director of the Vermont Association for Mental Health
- Louis Josephson, president and CEO of Brattleboro Retreat
- Brian Lincourt, night charge nurse at Brattleboro Retreat
- Connie Stabler, mother and Howard Center board member
- Karl Jeffries, unit chief for adult inpatient unit at Brattleboro Retreat
This show is part of a seven-part series I produced for Vermont Public Radio called They Are Us, which features personal stories from inside the state’s mental healthcare system.
Comments: Please make a comment or share a story if you’ve got one. Comments and conversation are part of the point!
Credits:
Series Advisor: Dillon Burns, mental health services director at Vermont Care Partners
Series Associate Producers: Clare Dolan, Mark Davis
Series Executive Director: Sarah Ashworth
VPR Advisors: Franny Bastian and John Dillon
Mixing: Chris Albertine
Digital Producer: Meg Malone
Series Logo: Aaron Shrewsbury
Music for this series is by two excellent Montreal-based bands:
Godspeed You! Black Emporer and Esmerine. Special thanks to the awesome Bruce Cawdron
For more information about the series, visit VPR. You’ll find the series schedule and resources.
Very big thanks to the following people for their knowledge, time and advice: M.T. Anderson, Melissa Bailey, Gretchen Brown, Seleem Choudhury, Anne Clement, Jimmy Dennison, Isabelle Desjardins, Laurie Emerson, Deb Fleischman, Laura Flint, Al Gobeille, Alix Goldschmidt, Gary Gordon, Keith Grier, Heather Houle, Jenniflower, Karen Kurrle, Lt. Maurice Lamothe, Sabrina Leal, Fran Levine, Martie Majoros, Jack McCullough, Mark McGee, Megan McKeever, Betsy Morse, Bess O’Brien, Roxanne Pearson, Julie Potter and her beautiful daughter, Malaika Puffer, Michael Rousse, Marla Simpson, Montpelier Senior Activity Center, Sandy Steingard, Tony Stevens, Cindy Tabor, Gloria Vandenberg, Konstantin von Krusenstiern.
The series is a triumph! The insightful commentary Erica gets from the patients, parents care givers and administators is truly extraordinary.
I am certain that the rest of the programs, yet to be run, bundled as “They Are Us” will be the same.
I predict that shortly after airing in Vermont, the package will be picked up and run by Public Radio stations all over America.
Congratulations to Erica Heilman and VPR !
This is a truly remarkable series that highlights one of the greatest failings of our society; the care and support of individuals with severe mental illness. Erica Heilman has done an outstanding job of reminding us of the complexity and broad scope of this problem, even in our small state of Vermont. Thanks for a wonderful series.