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Countywide : Mentally Ill Find Solace in Program

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Talking confidently and comfortably about his life, 38-year-old Pat reveals little of the pain and desolation he suffered after his condition was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia.

But the stories he tells--of nervous breakdowns, hospitalizations, daily doses of stabilizing prescription drugs, suicidal tendencies--paint a clearer picture of the life style of the mentally or emotionally ill.

And although he now lives at home and holds a part-time job as a janitor, he says returning to the social circuit is no easy feat. To smooth the transition, he has found solace in the Orange County Mental Health Assn.’s Project Return, a program providing a social outlet for mentally ill people as they re-enter mainstream society.

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“I just came here looking for something to get involved in,” said Pat, who has belonged to the program for seven years. “I wanted to make some friends. I didn’t have any.”

Project Return is composed of 13 individual clubs throughout the county where those who are re-entering society can meet other like souls for fellowship and social activity, said Lina Nabahani, who coordinates the program.

Most of the more than 200 participants have been found to be either schizophrenic or manic depressive. Some live in board-and-care homes, while others have recently returned to private homes or families.

Although each club has a volunteer facilitator, Nabahani says the clubs are self-help groups and members have the complete jurisdiction over how their club works.

Weekly club meetings are primarily social get-togethers, but members also plan fund-raisers and social outings such as bowling parties and trips to the San Diego Zoo and Catalina Island. And some groups meet specifically for activities such as painting or sculpting sessions.

Bruce Cossaboom first came to club meetings seven years ago, hoping to find a place to socialize but not expecting much else. He ended up meeting a woman he would marry, although they have since separated.

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He continues to attend meetings and was recently elected president of the group of club presidents that meets monthly.

“It’s a safe place to be yourself, to learn about other people and about yourself,” said Cossaboom.

Cossaboom, 31, prefers therapy and support groups to work. Employers, he says, don’t understand the needs of the mentally ill.

“When I was working I’d get this stuff from my boss (about the club), ‘You don’t need them,’ or about the therapy he’d say, ‘You don’t need that.’ So in the end I said, ‘I don’t need you.’ ”

Mental health workers from various county agencies speak highly of the self-help aspect of the 7-year-old Project Return program, which they say offers a helpful bridge for patients who want to become socially active again.

“Nobody knows their problems like somebody who’s been through the (same) problems,” said Don Granger, mental health services coordinator for the Therapeutic Residential Center in Anaheim.

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At 54, Rosemary Duncan, who is schizophrenic, agrees. As a club member and federation officer, she enjoys offering younger club members her advice.

“I’ve seen what the world really looks like; I’ve gone through dramatic things . . . I can interact with these people and give them some interesting information,” she said.

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