Arkansas Mental Health Guide 2021

Arkansas

Mental Health Guide A Publication of AY Media Group

A Good Shepherd

Through faith and experience, Kyle Brewer leads the way to recovery

By Dwain Hebda

Legacy of Love A beloved teen’s suicide spurs awareness, advocacy and a push for prevention

By Dustin Jayroe

Overcoming Adversity | Resource Directory | Erasing the Stigma

IT'S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY. Child and Family Services 6601 West 12th St. Little Rock, AR 72204 501.771.5511 Adult Services 1521 Merrill Drive Little Rock, AR 72211 501.660.6893

WE'RE HERE FOR YOU ANYTIME, DAY OR NIGHT. The Centers safely provides adult and child psychiatric assessment, outpatient counseling and medication management. We offer treatment for anxiety, depression, and a variety of behavioral challenges.

Bilingual therapists are available. Same-day appointments are available.

24/7 crisis and info line: 501-666-8686 Website: TheCentersAR.com

Quality Care Rooted in Arkansas

hope Is The Foundation. recovery Is The Journey.

The pandemic has caused people to consume alcohol at unprecedented levels. The BridgeWay offers hope and recovery for adults struggling with alcohol or other substances.

Led by Dr. Schay, a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction specialist, our continuum of care includes: • Medical detoxification • Partial hospitalization • Intensive outpatient program

To learn more about our continuum of care for substance use disorders, call us at 1-800-245-0011.

Dr. Schay

Medical Director of Substance Use Disorders

Physicians are on the medical staff of The BridgeWay Hospital but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of The BridgeWay Hospital. The facility shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. Source: Journal of the American Medical Association.

CONTENTS

Mental Health Guide 2021

INTRO

12

16

22

30

Welcome to AY’s 2021 Mental Health Guide.

It includes valuable information, a resource directory and powerful stories featuring individuals facing mental health challenges and organizations trying to help.

We hope you’ll use this guide to gain knowledge and to direct others. Our goal is to be as complete a resource as possible. To that end, we’ll update the electronic version of this guide periodically. You’ll find more information online at armentalhealthguide.com, as well as via our social media outlets.

We hope that this is a valuable resource.

Please let us know if you have ideas for the next issue.

12

PERILS OF THE PAST

Ashley Daffron, in her own words

MOST VIEWED FROM THE 2020 MENTAL HEALTH GUIDE

16

THE SENTINEL

Jordon Babock’s story of grief, loss and overcoming

01 A Mama’s Heart

22

WITHIN THEIR HEARTS, SHE LIVES FOREVER

Sarah Nida Inman’s loss of her daughter by suicide

03 10 Things to Help Anxiety

30

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Kyle Brewer’s journey from addict to savior

04 Heaven from Hell: Meth to Mayor

FEATURES

34 AN ‘OASIS’ OF HOPE

05 ACEs: Overcoming Adversity

Oasis of Northwest Arkansas

38

A LEGACY OF HEALING AND SERVICE

Renewal Ranch

44

THE EFFECTS OF BEING ESSENTIAL

Frontline workers bear the brunt of many pandemic facets

50

THE PANDEMIC’S SHADOW

The mental health toll of COVID-19

52

MEMORY AND AGING

Signs and prevention

59

02 When Oceans Rise

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCE GUIDE

on the cover Kyle Brewer is winning his addiction battle. Now, he’s determined to help others find the same salvation.

Photo by Jamison Mosley

Arkansas

Mental Health Guide A Publication of AY Media Group

A Good Shepherd

Through faith and experience, Kyle Brewer leads the way to recovery

By Dwain Hebda

Legacy of Love A beloved teen’s suicide spurs awareness, advocacy and a push for prevention

By Dustin Jayroe

Overcoming Adversity | Resource Directory | Erasing the Stigma

2 . Mental Health Guide 2021

GOVERNOR LETTER

S

ASA HUTCHINSON, GOVERNOR

Mental health and well-being is critical to our communities, our workplaces, our families and our state.

omething many people often forget about is mental health. Our mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. The effects it has can change how we feel, think and act, and can determine how we handle stress or relate to others.

For the last 22 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the focus of everyone’s thoughts, and it has taken its toll on the mental health of many. Our friends at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Psychiatric Institute say that in one survey of Americans, 65 percent reported that COVID-19 was causing significant stress in their lives and complicating much of what they do. About 45 percent of people of all ages reported significant loneliness. Many Arkansans have risen to the challenge to stop the spread of COVID-19, and we are inching closer to returning to what some consider normal.

With the stress and anxiety many face with returning to society, and seeing people in person, some for the first time in over a year, that can create problems for many who struggle with mental health.

Thankfully, because Arkansans are focused on helping our neighbors, there are several places and organizations you can reach out to. NAMI Arkansas is a statewide nonprofit organization that aims to educate and help those who struggle with mental health. Cerebral is a telehealth option that aids those with or without insurance. UAMS created AR-Connect that can help Arkansans, with no out-of-pocket expense, who are experiencing stress or mental health issues related to the pandemic. In south Arkansas, three brothers created Integrity Telehealth, which directs students and teachers to appropriate counseling and mental health services. There are plenty of options available to help those who need it.

The fact is, none of us can do it by ourselves, and the good news is that you don’t have to. Plenty of people are standing by, trained and ready to guide you out of the darkness. That is the message of hope you will find in this magazine you are reading, AY’s 2021 Arkansas Mental Health Guide. Whether it’s depression, addiction, the mental wear and tear of daily life, or all of the above, your fellow Arkansans want to help, and they are just waiting for you to ask.

Sincerely,

Asa Hutchinson

armentalhealthguide.com . 3

MHG

EDITOR’S LETTER

OF ARKANSAS

CONTRIBUTORS

PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER Heather Baker • hbaker@aymag.com EDITOR Dustin Jayroe • djayroe@aymag.com COPY EDITOR Lisa Fischer • lfischer@aymag.com

XXXXX XXXXX Dwain Hebda Dwain Hebda is president of Ya!Mule Wordsmiths in Little Rock. A writer, editor and journalist of some 30 years, his work appears in more than 30 publications in four states. Nebraskan by birth, Southern by the grace of God, he and his wife, Darlene, have four grown children and two lovely dogs.

STAFF WRITERS Katie Zakrzewski • katie@aymag.com Emily Beirne • ebeirne@aymag.com Sarah Coleman • scoleman@aymag.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Mike Bedgood • mbedgood@aymag.com ART DIRECTOR Jamison Mosley • jmosley@aymag.com DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Kellie McAnulty • kmcanulty@aymag.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lora Puls • lpuls@aymag.com

XXXXX XXXXX Lauren McLemore Lauren McLemore is a recent graduate of the University of Central Arkansas with a BA in journalism. She has contributed to AY Media Group since 2019. An Arkansas native, she loves engaging with her local community and telling their stories.

When not at work, you can find her teaching yoga, taking a jog in downtown Little Rock or enjoying a chai tea latte.

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Tonya Higginbotham • thigginbotham@aymag.com Mary Funderburg • mary@aymag.com Tonya Mead • tmead@aymag.com Shasta Ballard • sballard@aymag.com Amanda Moore • amoore@aymag.com ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER Jessica Everson • jeverson@aymag.com ADVERTISING COORDINATORS Jacob Carpenter • ads@aymag.com Virginia Ellison • ads@aymag.com ADMINISTRATION Casandra Moore • admin@aymag.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Ginger Roell • groell@aymag.com INTERN Maitlyn Harrison • mharrison@aymag.com CONTRIBUTORS Bob Coleman, Ashley Daffron, Angela Forsyth, Jared Sorrells

XXXXX XXXXX Tony Milligan Tony Milligan is a hobbyist photographer born in northeast Arkansas who has been happily married for the last 30 years, and still lives in his hometown of Caraway. Photography has become his way of relaxing and documenting the world around him, recently having photos featured in AY Magazine and Delta Crossroads. You can find him traveling the local backroads searching for his next photo opportunity.

4 . Mental Health Guide 2021

AY MEDIA GROUP CEO • Vicki Vowell

MENTAL HEALTH GUIDE 2021 | VOLUME V | ISSUE 5 | ARMENTALHEALTHGUIDE.COM The Mental Health Guide is published annually by AY Media Group, 910 W. 2nd St., Suite 200, Little Rock, AR 72201. Periodicals postage paid at Little Rock, AR and additional mailing offices.

The contents of AY’s Mental Health Guide are copyrighted, and material contained herein may not be copied or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher. Articles in AY’s Mental Health Guide should not be considered specific advice, as individual circumstances vary. Products and services advertised in the magazine are not necessarily endorsed by AY or AY Media Group.

I

’ve had a really hard time finding the right words for this column for months. Truth be told, I’m still searching. If you’re reading this, you’ve also been living the experience that has been the past almost two years. A time plagued by one of the worst viral pandemics in modern history. A period of unimaginable loss, grief and vulnerability. I mean, what can you say?

Fortunately, I am not the sole voice responsible for this important issue. Because of the bravery, courage and eloquence of others, answers and resolve may yet be found in these pages if you — like me — are still searching.

There’s an inspiring first-hand account of overcoming adverse childhood experiences and domestic abuse. There are stories that involve suicide from contrasting yet similar perspectives — one, a man who lost both of his parents; the other, a mother who said goodbye to her teenage daughter far too soon. The strife of substance use is unfortunately well-documented in Arkansas, and this issue features the story of someone who spent multiple stints on the steps of death’s door during his addiction battle. Then, there’s the elephant in every room — COVID-19. We spoke with those on the frontlines to share how heavy a burden being “essential” really is.

But this is also an issue of hope; it’s the most important element of all. Because each of these stories features subjects who have found ways forward, no matter how difficult their journeys became. A mom found a way to help other teenagers, other families, from the fate that claimed her 16-year-old. A son rose to lead a behavioral health facility after his parents’ suicides.

The recovering addict has devoted his life to shepherding others out of the same depths that drowned his 20s. The abuse victim became a Court Appointed Special Advocate to help other adolescents out of similar situations to hers.

A better tomorrow is always possible.

Help is always available.

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” — Victor Hugo Dustin Jayroe Editor

CHANGING LIVES WITH COMPASSIONATE BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE Welcoming patients from across the region Our treatment programs include:

• Acute care for children and adolescents (ages 4 to 18) • Acute care for adults (ages 18 and above) • Dual diagnosis treatment • Detoxification program

• Partial Hospitalization Program for adults • Intensive Outpatient Program for adults

We are here to help when you need us.

Call us today at 800-264-5640.

100 Rivendell Drive, Benton, AR 72019

800-264-5640 | rivendellofarkansas.com With limited exceptions, physicians are not employees or agents of this hospital. For language assistance, disability accommodations and the non-discrimination notice, visit our website. 203643-5291 8/20

CEO LETTER

EMPATHY MATTERS

T

he BridgeWay has been serving the mental health needs of Arkansans for 38 years. Our secret to longevity is our outstanding team of professionals — physicians, nurses, clinical staff, and support staff — whose commitment is to provide high-quality, safe patient care and the most compassionate service possible. As a fundamental component of our mission, we are continuously improving, guided by the needs of those we serve. The pandemic has certainly created the opportunity to evolve, grow and enrich our programs.

We continue to provide inpatient acute psychiatric services for children, adolescents and adults throughout life.

Megan Miller, L.C.S.W., CEO These acute care programs address the adult’s entire wellbeing, including medical, psychiatric and social needs. We also continue to offer medical detoxification that focuses CORE COMPONENTS on addiction treatment in a structured, medical setting that can help patients with life-threatening symptoms like drug OF OUR PROGRAM detox and alcohol withdrawal. In addition, we provide Elec• Medical and psychological troconvulsive Therapy (ECT) at both the inpatient and outevaluation patient levels. This service is beneficial among people suffer• Direction of a board-certified ing from depression or acute mania, those who cannot take psychiatrist antidepressants due to health problems or lack of response, • Individualized treatment plan and some suicidal patients who cannot wait for antidepres• 24-hour nursing care sants to take effect.

• Medication management and Our continuum of care includes services for adults who education (as needed) can benefit from more intensive programs than traditional • Structured daily clinical program outpatient treatment but whose symptoms are not severe • Group and family therapy enough to require hospitalization.

• Scheduled visitation Our Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is for adults, • Recreational therapy age 18 and older, experiencing psychiatric or substance use • Coping and life skill training disorders. This program Dr. Jarvis Dr. Schay Dr.provides Kang comprehensive services for • Discharge planning The Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is Medical Director Medical Director Ofsix hours per day. Staff Psychiatrist, of treatment for Psychiatry those who would benefit from of Adult Psychiatry Substance Use Disordersan&ideal levelAdult and Senior structured care with limited treatment hours, three hours of Patriot Support Program Inpatient and Mental Health care daily, as they prepare to transition to traditional outpaIntensive Outpatient Program ABOUT THE BRIDGEWAY tient services. and Partial Hospitalization The BridgeWay offers a continuum We have a saying at The BridgeWay, “At the heart of what of services designed to help chilwe do, empathy matters.” That means that we not only focus dren, adolescents and adults who on what we do but also on how we do it. We recognize that are experiencing those behavioral, every person who walks through our doors is experiencing emotional or addictive problems a vulnerable time in their life, and we welcome the privilege that can lead to fractured lives. Our to participate in caring for them. If you, or someone you care team of mental health professionfor, needs behavioral health services, our team of professionals includes board-certified child/ als is dedicated to confidentially providing prompt access to adolescent and adult psychiatrists, care. We appreciate the trust you place in us and want to be master’s-level clinical therapists, your provider for years to come. and nurses and mental health associates who are here to help people reconnect with their families, friends and employers so that they may lead productive lives.

Our doctors listen with their

H earts Stethoscopes and

Dr. Powell

Staff Psychiatrist, Adult Psychiatry 6 . Mental Health Guide 2021

Dr. Palmer

Quality Care Rooted in Arkansas

Medical Director, 21 Bridgeway 21 BRIDGEWAY ROAD / NORTH LITTLE Road ROCK, AR 72113 / 800.245.0011 Child and Adolescent North Little Rock, AR 72113 Psychiatry 1-800-245-0011 Inpatient and Residential TheBridgeWay.com Treatment

CEO LETTER

TO HOPE / TO HEAL / TO LAUGH / TO LIVE

T SHANE FRAZIER, CEO

At Pinnacle Pointe, we strive to meet families no matter where they are or what they are facing with a promise to provide a compassionate, hope-filled environment and tools to equip them to handle the problems they are facing.

hank you for taking the time to learn more about Pinnacle Pointe Behavioral Healthcare System (PPBHS) and our heart for children, adolescents and families.

At Pinnacle Pointe: • We hold great expectations for bringing hope and healing to children, adolescents, and families by positively impacting their emotional and behavioral health through the compassionate care we provide • We hold great expectations for our employees to assure they meet the needs of our patients and families.

• We hold great expectations for our patients to assure they believe in their potential for success.

• We hold great expectations for families, as we offer the support and tools necessary to cope with life when the day-to-day burdens become too great to handle alone.

Pinnacle Pointe Behavioral Healthcare System offers acute inpatient and subacute (long-term) treatment for children and adolescents ages 5 to 17, as well as outpatient services.

• Acute inpatient treatment may be advised after an assessment is completed and our psychiatrist concludes that the patient’s condition cannot be safely or effectively treated on an outpatient basis. The program is a comprehensive therapeutic, intensive treatment led by a team of highly experienced mental health professionals including psychiatrists, case managers, clinical therapists, certified teachers, registered nurses and recreational therapists.

• Sub-acute inpatient treatment may be indicated in our facility for children and adolescents ages 5 to 17 with longstanding emotional and behavioral health issues. Our physician-led

long-term treatment program addresses children’s entire well-being including medical, psychiatric, social and academic needs. The sub-acute treatment program provides a variety of therapies and activities in a safe, comfortable environment.

• Outpatient Services are offered through a statewide network of locations that include intensive outpatient, school-based and traditional outpatient services. The System also offers an extensive Telemedicine/ Telehealth Network to advance behavioral health services throughout the state. A number of treatment options are available and integrate individual, family and group therapy, medication management, case management and psychological testing as needed.

Families should talk openly about concerns or behavioral changes they observe.

No one should be afraid to ask for help for their family when they feel uncertain how to handle an issue that arises. It takes strength and courage to reach out for help. At Pinnacle Pointe, we strive to meet families no matter where they are or what they are facing with a promise to provide a compassionate, hope-filled environment and tools to equip them to handle the problems they are facing. Taking that first step and reaching out is the most vital step of all — we will help you with every one of the following steps on your journey.

Our goal is to fulfill our mission every day for families — To Hope …To Heal …To Laugh …To Live!

On behalf of our entire staff, thank you again for taking the time to learn more about our team as well as the care and support we offer families. If you have any questions or would like more information regarding our programs, please do not hesitate to contact us.

11501 FINANCIAL CENTRE PKWY. / LITTLE ROCK, AR 72211 / 501.223.3322 armentalhealthguide.com . 7

CEO LETTER

COMPASSIONATE HEALING

A

FRED KNOX, CEO ADULT SERVICES

• Adult Acute Psychiatric Program • Adult Dual Diagnosis Program • Adult Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) • Adult Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)

t Rivendell, we offer hope and healing to those suffering from psychiatric conditions. We provide these services in both an inpatient setting that serves adults, adolescents and children, and we’re also proud to offer outpatient programs for adults in recovery. Our ultimate goal is to provide each guest in our care exceptional treatment through a team comprised of board-certified physicians, psychologists, nurses, therapists and psychiatric techs. Rivendell is Joint Commission accredited.

Rivendell’s overall goal is to treat each guest in our care with dignity and respect. Our culture is to ensure that each employee is proud to be a part of the Rivendell team and that every guest is treated as an extension of our family. Rivendell welcomes you to be our guest, and as a guest you can expect the highest quality of care including medication management and compassionate care from our treatment team that is delivered in a comfortable setting.

Again, we know you have a choice in where you or your loved one receives treatment, and I personally would like to say thank you for choosing Rivendell of Arkansas. I want to welcome you to a very special place where offering hope and healing through compassionate care is not just a mission; it’s our commitment and daily privilege.

CHILD SERVICES

• Child and Adolescent Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Care

WHO WE ARE

Rivendell Behavioral Health Services is an 80-bed acute psychiatric hospital located on a 17-acre wooded glen in Benton, Arkansas.

Our freestanding treatment center offers a private, peaceful setting for those seeking healing and hope for behavioral health issues. Our facility offers inpatient programs for patients ages four and above as well as intensive outpatient treatment for adults. Rivendell utilizes a medical model for patient treatment practicing a multidisciplinary approach in terms of screening, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and discharge planning. Professionals providing care as part of the multidisciplinary team include psychiatrists, nurses, dieticians, social workers, counselors, special education teachers, and more.

“Offering hope and healing through compassionate care is not just a mission; it’s our commitment and daily privilege.”

100 RIVENDELL DRIVE / BENTON, AR 72019 / 501.316.1255 / 800-264-5640 8 . Mental Health Guide 2021

CEO LETTER

Jordon Babcock, EMBA, CEO

S

pringwoods Behavioral Health has been providing high-quality behavioral healthcare services that patients recommend to families and friends, physicians prefer for their patients, and employees are proud to provide for 12 years. Located at 1955 West Truckers Drive in Fayetteville, Springwoods is an 80-bed behavioral health facility providing comprehensive care for adolescents, adults and a unit designed exclusively for women. The six-acre campus, which opened in 2009, provides a secluded and serene setting for comfort and healing. Located off Highway 112, Springwoods is accessible to residents of Northwest Arkansas and the surrounding communities.

Over the past year and a half, we have been making adjustments to our programs to help accommodate our community’s needs. This has allowed us to expand what we offer in our system of care. We have added telehealth for some of our outpatient programs, which has extended our ability to serve patients in more remote locations or those with transportation needs. We have also implemented all recommended precautions from the CDC, the Department of Health, and our local infection control experts in regard to COVID-19. Every patient is screened

prior to admission to our facility, and we monitor temperatures and symptoms of all visitors/staff. Through the past year, we have built a stronger bond with our community partners in working together as a team. We are proud to be the preferred Behavioral Health Hospital in NWA and to be part of such a great community!

Our adult, women’s program and adolescent acute inpatient programs treat mental health patients in a physician-led intensive therapeutic structure, providing medical and psychiatric stabilization with 24-hour nursing care for patients experiencing critical symptoms. Springwoods offers a comprehensive treatment approach to stabilizing acute psychiatric and addictive disease problems in a safe and structured environment. Inpatient services treat suicidal/homicidal thoughts, medical detoxification, drug/alcohol use disorder, depression/mood disorders, personality disorders, bipolar disorder, panic/anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Springwoods also offers day treatment programs. Adult patients and adolescents who have achieved some stability but continue to need more intensive treatment than traditional outpatient therapy, or to prevent hospitalization, may be treated within one of the day treatment programs: the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) or Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP).

The Partial Hospitalization Program provides intensive treatment for adult or adolescent patients with mild to moderate symptoms. The program features an individualized treatment plan, full day of group therapy — five groups daily, five days a week, medication management, with approximately one to four weeks of treatment. Partial hospitalization is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for adults and 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for adolescents.

The Intensive Outpatient Program is for adult patients with less serious

symptoms but still require frequent therapy. This program can be a step-down level of care from partial hospitalization.

The IOP is a half-day program, four days a week that provides daily group therapy.

Intensive outpatient is available from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

Springwoods Behavioral Health accepts referrals from the professional community (doctors, hospitals, therapists, social workers, nurses, schools, courts, churches and community agencies) as well as from families.

Qualified assessment and referral staff perform assessments 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, at no cost. Each assessment is evaluated by a physician who recommends the appropriate level of care for treatment. Recommendations are then discussed with the patient/family to assist in making an informed decision about treatment.

On behalf of our team here at Springwoods, we would like to extend an offer to the community for anyone who is interested in our services or would like to learn more about mental and behavioral healthcare. The stigma of mental illness is an issue we face together as a community, and it is through information and positive experiences that we can make a difference.

If you have any questions or would like some additional information about the specialty programs or services we offer, please feel free to contact us.

Springwoods Behavioral Health is a provider for most insurance/managed care plans, as well as Medicare, and is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JTC) and licensed by the Arkansas Department of Health.

For more information, call (479) 9736000 or visit springwoodsbehavioral.com.

Follow us: facebook.com/SpringwoodsBH and linkedin.com/company/springwoodsbehavioral-health.

1955 WEST TRUCKERS DR / FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS 72704 / 479.973.6000 / 888.521.6014 armentalhealthguide.com . 9

Take the hopeful step toward a future.

brighter

If you or someone you care about is struggling with their mental health, know that you are not alone. Our national network of trusted providers offers comprehensive behavioral health solutions to address what you may be experiencing, including: • Anxiety, Depression • Alcoholism, Substance Use Disorder • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) • Bipolar Disorder

We are here for you. If you or a loved one is struggling, call 888.521.6014 for a no-cost assessment 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

And if we can’t meet your needs, our national network of trusted providers can, with a broad variety of services for adults, seniors and children/adolescents – including specialty programming for the LGBTQ+ community, military, first responders and healthcare workers.

Visit

FindBHhelp.com

to find a location near you.

Hope. Help. Healing.

Physicians are on the medical staff of these facilities, but, with limited exceptions, are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of these facilities. The facilities shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.

Model representations of real patients are shown. Actual patients cannot be divulged due to HIPAA regulations. For language assistance, disability accommodations and the non-discrimination notice, visit our website. 211733-2781 10/21

10 . Mental Health Guide 2021

1955 West Truckers Dr Fayetteville, AR 72704 springwoodsbehavioral.com 888-521-6014

MentalHealth MATTERS

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on Arkansans. Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Sometimes people turn to alcohol or other drugs to help manage stress, feelings of isolation and even depression or anxiety.

UAMS AR-Connect, a partnership with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Psychiatric Research Institute and the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Aging, Adult and Behavioral Health Services, provides virtual telehealth services to anyone dealing with stress, anxiety, depression or other mental health issues, including problems related to alcohol or drugs.

Connect

A VIRTUAL MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAM

Accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

WHAT WE DO Assess your needs Provide short-term therapy Provide stress management strategies, mental health or substance use care Connect you to local resources such as food or shelter Connect you to longer term mental health or substance use care if needed

CONTACT US PHONE:

501-526-3563 or 800-482-9921 EMAIL:

ARconnect@UAMS.edu WEB:

Psychiatry.UAMS.edu/ARconnect INSTAGRAM:

@UAMS_ARconnect

Always free. Always virtual.

No referral or health insurance needed!

This material was made possible by Grant Numbers 1H79FG000240-01/678-01 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Aging, Adult and Behavioral Health Services (DAABHS).

armentalhealthguide.com . 11

Cycles, Systems and Surmounting Adversity

By Ashley Daffron | Photos by Tony Milligan

Ashley Daffron.

12 . Mental Health Guide 2021

W

hen writing this article, I struggled between telling the stories of my past and presenting my hopes for the future. Which was more important than the other? I’d love to say that I live by the saying, “My past doesn’t define me,” but there’s absolutely no way that it couldn’t.

My story is a messy one, with enough highs and lows to be considered a true roller coaster, but my past isn’t unique. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one in six adults is exposed to four or more adverse childhood experiences during their formative years. Unfortunately, I am not alone in the fact that I was exposed to untreated mental health disorders, domestic violence, gang activity, various addictions and poverty from a relatively young age.

As a child in the aforementioned situations, one is typically voiceless and more focused on survival than the effects that the current environment will have on you once you “grow up.” However, as an adult, I have decided to use my newfound voice to share my experiences. To continue on telling the entire truth would mean sharing information and experiences of others that I don’t necessarily feel privy to; the mere mention of sharing my story has threatened the relationship I currently have with family, so I have decided to err on the side of caution and understanding and focus on my accomplishments and goals.

I finally consider myself a success in terms of breaking generational cycles of addiction and violence. I’ve nearly completed a dual degree program at Purdue University in Addictions Counseling and Youth/Family Services with a 4.0 GPA, earning me a spot on the Chancellor’s List every term to date. Being a Court Appointed Special Advocate and starting the process of becoming a NAADAC accredited Arkansas Core Peer Recovery Specialist has only highlighted the fact that I took those adverse childhood experiences, harnessed my strength, and push onward, even if I was only proving to myself that I could “recover” from my past.

My past experiences could begin with notable events in my childhood, but I’ve decided to begin with the relationship that set the tone for much of my teenage and early adulthood years. At the age of 16, I found myself in a manipulative and violent relationship. The clear signs of manipulation and grooming had already begun after I graduated high school. He limited my contact with my family, required check-ins every hour via text or call, and even worked at the same companies as I did in an effort to be close to me. It wasn’t until we

moved out into a townhouse of our own that the emotional, mental and verbal abuse shifted to periods of physical abuse, leading to a deep and strong dive into the depths of major depressive disorder (MDD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and panic disorder (PD) as my will to live diminished.

It was the most important goal of mine to never let a soul find out about the physical abuse I was enduring in Kentucky. I felt that I had brought this upon myself, and to tell my side would be admitting weakness and defeat. Those two words weren’t sup-

One in six adults is exposed to four or more adverse childhood experiences during their formative years. posed to be associated with me: The strong woman who had already faced enough adversities for a lifetime. I refused to be a quitter, even if that meant staying in an abusive marriage. I prayed to God for strength, resilience and a stronger will to live, but what I hadn’t realized is that I needed to put in the effort myself as well. Nevertheless, the marriage ended after a year, much to my surprise.

I was relieved. I was angry. I was confused. I wanted out, but I wanted out on my terms. I wanted to be the wife who left the abusive relationship feeling like a winner, but all I felt in the days following was extreme sadness. Our divorce was brutal, and that was OK; I got to let out years of anger and suppression over the near year it took to finalize.

I slept for days on end in my parents’ townhouse in Arkansas, feeling a deep sense of loss. I was finally free but felt more imprisoned than ever mentally. While I got the privilege to let out the anger armentalhealthguide.com . 13

I don’t know if I’ll ever “officially” overcome my mental health struggles.

But I know that I’m continuously rebuilding myself.

14 . Mental Health Guide 2021

I had been holding in for so long, the depression and anxiety also got the chance to rear their ugly heads. The thought of suicide crossed my mind more times than I could count; was my 20-something-year-old life truly worth living if I was going to have MDD, PTSD and PD forever? I didn’t know the answer, but I simply kept living as if I did.

After a healing period and much-needed family time in Arkansas, I met the absolute man of my dreams, Gregory. He was charming and well-versed in meaningful conversation with the occasional joke, all of which guaranteed chemistry. From a nontraditional family himself, he understood my need for stability and was as understanding as he could be about my past traumas. As we dated, I was introduced to a new world full of well-educated individuals heavily involved with the Department of Human Services, where Gregory was a Family Service Worker. I was absolutely dumbfounded. Was this my life now?

Could I really just go from being a girl in an abusive marriage in Kentucky just trying to get by to being associated with an incredibly strong group of men and women with similar interests? It seemed far too good to be true, but I simply kept living the reality I found myself in.

After seven months of dating, he proposed to me after I was sworn in as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in front of cheering friends, family and colleagues. He has stood by me every single day of the past nearly three years, through unimaginable situations. As I worked diligently on sifting through my trauma, I was overcome with panic and fear. I didn’t understand: My life was wonderful, I had an amazing husband, a blossoming career, and a strong desire to finish my degree …

What was wrong with me? I chose to voluntarily admit myself [to treatment] in an effort to seek the right medications and gain insight into why this disorder was running my life yet again. All I knew was that regardless of how I was feeling, I refused to give up or cope in the ways that I saw so many around me choose.

But wait — a hospital stay? “Why in the world would you go to a psychiatric facility?” “Aren’t you a happy newlywed?”

Oh, the questions I received were both comical and infuriating. Why was there such a damning stigma around seeking help when I knew in my heart that I needed it?

After a five-day stay, I was faced with an internal struggle: Who do I tell, what do I say, and do people even need to know?

It was only a few hours after leaving the facility for suicidal ideations, panic attacks and a major depressive episode that I decided to post on Facebook where I had been and why. It was completely freeing, and I could not care an ounce less about what people thought. My main goal was to be transparent; after all, if I couldn’t be honest, then what in the world was my purpose on social media? My purpose in this community?

The mixed reactions from social media left me with a newfound purpose and a fire under me: To get the word out about mental health stigmas and fast. I had already started my educational career, entering school at Purdue University for a dual-major in Addictions Counseling and Human Services (Youth/Family Services), and began being as outspoken as possible about my past and present struggles.

I quickly became obsessed with the idea that I could change the way Northeast Arkansas operates when it comes to mental health emergencies and restructuring resources. I immersed myself in seminars, reading literature from advocates, and making a working plan on how to network and meet anyone and everyone involved in changing our state. Bruce Trimble of The BridgeWay invited me to a two day seminar on H.O.P.E.: Suicide Prevention for Crime Victims led by advocate Laura Abbott. Listening to the passion from various facilities’ employees, organizations and grassroots activists only solidified my need to soak up information and read stories on who has been affected by similar traumas as I had been.

But I continuously noticed themes in each and every story I came across: foster care, domestic violence, substance abuse

and the innate shame that the collective “we” as victims feel toward our pasts. I was blessed to have a group of individuals supporting me to continue sharing my stories as I quickly hesitated and called for a retreat internally. Should I really be so outspoken about these issues? Am I a fraud for not being healed yet advocating for others to start their healing journey? These questions swirled in my head as I continued my journey onward.

As each day passes, I have to consciously make the effort to make the distinction between my past’s power and its significance. I give my traumas the recognition they deserve as terrifying, sobering portions of my life that I cannot change and time that I cannot get back.

These traumas have fueled the desire in me to help others break the generational cycles of domestic violence and substance use that I witnessed and that starts each morning as I wake up and thank God for another day.

My purpose is ever-evolving but I remain cognizant that my goal is to help families and youth involved in the DHS court systems as they wade through a system that can be full of shame, stress and fear. Involvement in the system is stigmatized in rural communities and can often end up in children becoming adults without the necessary tools and mental health literacy. This is why I have chosen to speak my truth to those of all age ranges but particularly our youth.

I am set to speak on behalf of CASA later this year to youth who are transitioning from foster care to living on their own.

Local foster youth will attend a class discussing “Self-Care, Mental Health, Recognizing Triggers for Trauma,” three topics that I’m familiar with both from a professional and personal standpoint. But I can’t do this single-handedly. Reach out to your local CASA organization and volunteer to be a listening ear and advocate for a foster child. Apply to the Department of Human Services and make a difference as a caseworker for families. Be honest with yourself and others about your struggles and diagnoses.

I don’t know if I’ll ever “officially” overcome my mental health struggles. But I know that I’m continuously rebuilding myself. All that I know for certain is that helping others is helping myself unearth and unlearn the trauma-based fears and reactions of my past, and put more faith in God regarding my present and future. ◊ armentalhealthguide.com . 15

By Dwain Hebda | Photos Courtesy Springwoods

Jordon Babcock.

16 . Mental Health Guide 2021

S

pringwoods Behavioral Health sits just off a busy Fayetteville thoroughfare.

Like almost everything in Northwest Arkansas, the place feels new, even though it’s been here for more than a decade.

Around it, residents go about their daily lives, shopping for groceries at the local Sam’s Club or walking their dogs from a nearby residential neighborhood.

The low-slung, 80-bed building is larger than it looks from the parking lot and surrounded by grounds turned over to the hand of Mother Nature, giving the whole place a native kind of feel. But inside, the facility is state-ofthe-art, and the staff is the best in the business. Polite to a fault, they are also sticklers for protocol and procedure, right down to the receptionist-controlled access doors that whoosh open like an airlock.

If you didn’t know better, you might mistake the place for a physical therapy practice or a 24-hour clinic, but there are subtle signs that’s not why people are here. Light fixtures, door handles, even the bathroom faucets are shaped differently — everything smoothed, rounded and behind locked doors. You feel more than see the electronic eyes on you, but they’re there, silently following the movement of staff, patient and visitor.

In his small office, Jordon Babcock, CEO, also follows the traffic in his building, as much by feel and instinct as by technology. He’s done every job there is to do in a facility like this, and the experience has left him with senses that can read a room like a map. Maybe a staffer’s body language tells him she’s having a bad day, maybe the tone of a conversation is just a half-octave too high, or maybe the air just doesn’t feel right. He reads people like a boiler gauge, watching the needle, adjusting accordingly.

It’s a skill that particularly comes in handy with patients, from nervous teens looking to corral their frightening thoughts to those in crisis, fighting to breathe through the grip of mental illness. So too with the families who are often here, shaken, weary, struggling to process what’s happening. Babcock knows them, too, not just for the training

He’s done every job there is to do in a facility like this, and the experience has left him with senses that can read a room like a map.

A portion of the grounds at Springwoods.

he’s received, but for what his own life has taught him. Behavioral illness isn’t just the patient’s cross to bear, he tells them, it seeps into jobs, relationships, families.

Some can’t believe it’s the CEO sitting across from them, leaning into their pain.

Some cry, some nod numbly, some don’t register any emotion at all. But that’s not the point; their reaction, like their pain, is individual and must therefore play out differently for everyone, in its own time.

He can’t fix what they are going through, even as their family member gets better.

But it’s enough for them to know there are places to start that leads to brighter horizons.

“I see myself as hitting the location jackpot. I could have been placed anywhere in 400 company facilities across the globe, but I got to come here,” he says.

“I plan on being a big part of this community for a long time.”

As much concern as Babcock has for those who are here for help, he’s more worried about the ones still out there, wandering in the fog of mental illness, thickened by stigma. It’s the stigma he hates the most, the unrelenting shame and embarrassment many people feel that keeps them from seeking help, forcing their demons into dark, combustible places, denying what’s wrong until it implodes their life and the lives of those 18 . Mental Health Guide 2021

around them. As long as that remains — and don’t let the headlines about wider acceptance of mental illness fool you, the stigma remains in spades — he'll be here, lighting lanterns in the night.

“I plan on being able to continue to create positive patient experiences,” he says.

“I know that every life we save here every day cascades into the quality of community that we have and changes more and more people’s opinions on what behavioral health is. I plan on living the rest of my days helping to change whether or not people are willing to turn to treatment in some way.”

Babcock took a winding path to his life’s work. The Chicagoland native grew up working in the family construction and landscaping business and originally attended college studying information technology. But the allure of the field faded with each passing semester, and he dropped out before graduating to go into business for himself, including a small home security company and dabbling in real estate. He did well, but something remained disconnected.

“I just put my keys on the desk one day and realized this wasn’t filling my cup up.

I wasn’t being fulfilled by my career,” he says. “I decided to go back and pursue an education in psychology.”

Babcock kept his businesses running

to pay the bills as he enrolled at Rockford University, at last engaged with coursework in a way he hadn’t been before. Then, about a year in, his phone rang. It was his aunt and what she told him changed his life.

“She called to tell me that my father was no longer with us,” he says, the light fading from his voice. “He took his life from carbon monoxide poisoning. Drank a lot of alcohol and kept the garage door closed and the car running.”

Babcock had encountered the aftershocks of mental illness before; as a teen, his cousin died by suicide, and another cousin struggled with addiction. But this was different; this shocked him to where remembering details is still fuzzy, like an accident survivor blocking out memories.

Even today, the words swell his throat and drop thickly off his tongue, still angry at the environment that led his father to do the unthinkable.

“I lost my father to the stigma surrounding mental health treatment and behavioral health,” he says, his voice a whipcrack. “I believe that if it was as OK for someone who was struggling internally with wanting to take their life to seek treatment, as it would be with him hurting his knee, let’s say, he would have been in a hospital, and he’d be alive, and he’d be with us today. But it wasn’t OK. And it

still isn’t.”

His father’s death sent him reeling for a time, giving him a chance to follow his own advice with therapy and proper grieving. After which, he attacked his studies with the ferocity of one who’s been there.

“When I went back to school after that, I was a student on fire,” he says. “I read every single book front to back.

I was in the library looking at current research journal articles. I was really throwing myself at education at this point. I graduated very quickly with my four-year psych degree.”

Once he had it, he didn’t know what to do with it, so he focused on his existing businesses. Until one day he got a tip that a local behavioral health clinic was seeking part-timers.

He landed a gig with a facility that served kids with rough backgrounds and even rougher life experiences. The stories were heartbreaking. The work was challenging. The pay was garbage.

Babcock was in love.

“Keeping one of those kids safe for a shift who was normally a selfharmer or was aggressive, or helping a staff member get through a difficult shift, just doing that, whether or not I made $80 in an eight-hour shift, it really filled my cup up fully,” he says. “I kept my IT business going during the day and selling homes during the day and then worked second shift until midnight there. It was 16 hours a day, rinse, repeat. I really threw myself completely at it.”

Babcock submitted a program proposal that suggested rewarding good behavior with the incentive of a field day. It was accepted and, by the second month, a handful of kids had qualified for the kind of outing most youths take for granted.

“We went out to the park, and nobody fought. Nobody ran away. Everyone was good,” he says. “We went to the salon, and no one stole anything or lost anything.

We went through the drive-thru. We were cranking up the tunes and singing, and it was like a movie. You couldn’t paint a better picture of a bunch of tough kids that had made it. Man, you want to talk about feeling good! I was on top of the world.”

Flying high, Babcock returned the group to the facility to be met in the parking lot by a somber-faced supervisor,

who took possession of the youth and directed him inside to take a waiting phone call. Seated on a massive blue couch, he pressed a flashing button to connect to his stepfather, and his life again changed forever.

“He told me that I needed to sit down.

And he said my mother was no longer with us. She died from a self-inflicted

Then one day, he saw with absolute clarity how he could make it all mean something more than just tragedy and sorrow. gunshot wound that day,” he says, choking on the memory.

“When I try to talk about the feeling, it’s this overwhelming burning sensation that runs through your body. I was in so much shock, and I just kept asking, ‘Where is she? Where did she go? What do you mean? Where is she?’ I couldn’t make sense of it. I couldn’t add it up.”

Behind the shock of the news was the sorrow of knowing — Babcock’s training had laid bare to him his mother’s struggles through the telltale signs that something wasn’t right. He’d begged her to get help, even arranging free services through his connections in the industry. But there was one demon he couldn’t wrestle out of her way, one claw he couldn’t extract fast enough to avoid devastating tragedy.

“She was paranoid that her church

friends and her family would find her weak because she had to get that support, and she was going to be judged,” he says.

“She wasn’t going to see a shrink. She wasn’t going to do those things because of the judgment and how society looks at this treatment, that it’s not equally as important as physical treatment, right?

That it’s not OK to be not OK. But it is, and it’s OK to get help, too.”

Having walked the path of grief after his father’s death made the road familiar, but no less steep. More than once, he recalls looking in the mirror and asking himself of his own stability in the face of what he was dealing with, ultimately backing away from the lips of bottomless pools with the help of people around him. Professional therapy was bolstered by raw expressions of love and concern that fed him emotionally, spiritually and physically — texts from former professors, hugs from coworkers, massive pans of lasagna from neighbors.

Then one day, he saw with absolute clarity how he could make it all mean something more than just tragedy and sorrow.

“I knew I had to get back to doing what I did, but it was a different game for me now. I was a different person,” he says.

“When I came out of that darkness, I knew I was going to wage a war on that stigma. I said it: ‘I’m going to run one of these treatment centers someday, and I’m going to make a difference out there.’”

At Springwoods, that’s exactly what’s happened. The hospital that limped along prior to his arrival has been reborn, reenergized by its CEO, infused with purpose and invested with a mission that he casts for new staffers during orientation when he shares his story. In so doing, the most senseless losses of his life serve a new purpose, something positive. Something life-giving.

“I feel very humbled to be where I’m at. I know that I lost my parents and family members for some sort of reason,” he says. “It’s what guides me every day to continue to get out of bed and fight and advocate, knowing my pain and my story, my struggle, can turn into something positive. That’s what drives me to continue to fight against the current stigma; I’m going to make something out of this. I’m going to persevere.” ◊ armentalhealthguide.com . 19

Specialists in this field such as Kelsie Hammons, LCSW, with RiverStone Wellness Center (pictured above on the left) support families when they experience a range of issues in the perinatal (pregnancy or postpartum) time frame.

RIVERSTONE WELLNESS CENTER ADDS PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH TO ITS LONG LIST OF SERVICES W h at i s Pe r i n at a l Me nt a l Hea lt h (PM H)?

PMH is a specialized field in mental health that works with people from the time they start thinking about having children through early parenthood and sometimes beyond. However, maternal and paternal mental health issues can show up and extend beyond this period due to new life transitions, issues going unrecognized, not having access to care, or going untreated. Specialists in this field support families when they experience a range of issues in the perinatal (pregnancy or postpartum) time frame.

What are the common reasons a family could seek treatment?

Individuals and families seek support related to starting a family, becoming pregnant, being pregnant, perinatal grief and loss, dealing with a traumatic birth experience, or a difficult postpartum. The transition to parenthood for many is difficult to manage, and often, parents end up feeling alone, frustrated, anxious, depressed and overwhelmed. Some parents are shocked with the transition into their new role of being a parent and feel it isn’t what they had

quite hoped it was going to be. This time can be both beautiful and challenging, leaving those who just gave birth feeling vulnerable and alone. There are physiological changes with pregnancy and birth that impact the functioning of the pregnant and postpartum body and mind. Many don’t realize how profound this shift into parenthood actually is, how common it is to feel these things or that help from an expert is available.

What are Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADS)?

So many have heard the term “baby blues,” or even postpartum depression, but many don’t know that a range of mood and anxiety disorders can be present during the perinatal time frame (pregnancy and postpartum), such as anxiety, panic, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, mania and, in some rare cases, psychosis. Postpartum depression is the No. 1 most common complication of childbirth, and if left untreated can have detrimental effects for both parent and baby.

How common are PMADS? Typically we know about one-fifth of

birthers experience a PMAD. We know about one-third of Black birthers will experience a PMAD, highlighting a glimpse of the racial disparities we see within the perinatal health system. We also know that with the pandemic there has been a stark increase in PMADS and birth trauma. These rates have almost doubled in some cases.

What support can RiverStone Wellness Center offer?

As with many of our services offered at RiverStone, we support clients holistically using a set of integrated therapeutic approaches. We offer a therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health and draws from elements of psychodynamic, acceptance commitment, cognitive-behavioral, and mindfulness therapies. She offers compassionate and practical support to help clients find their way through a variety of stressors. Our therapist offers a safe, friendly environment providing space for mothers/parents to feel welcome to bring their baby and tend to their baby’s needs (nurse, feed, change their baby) as needed during sessions. For those who are unable to attend or do not feel safe with in-person sessions, we offer telehealth for anyone in Arkansas.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES OFFERED • Individual Therapy • Group Therapy • Couples Therapy • Trauma/PTSD Treatment • Grief Counseling

• EMDR • Eating Disorder Treatment • Dialectical Behavior Therapy • Psychiatric Services

• • • •

Telehealth Services Nutrition Counseling Massage Therapy/Reiki/Acupressure Yoga

To schedule an appointment with Kelsie, please contact RiverStone Wellness Center at 501-777-3200.

5905 Forest Place, #230, Little Rock 501-777-3200 riverstonewellnesscenter.com

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We offer in-person and telehealth visits.

To learn more or to schedule an appointment, visit bhsarkansas.org or call (501) 954-7470 today.

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armentalhealthguide.com . 21

, s t r a e H ir e h T n i Wi t h er v e r o F s She Live

By Dustin Jayroe

The Inman family, pictured with their pups and a portrait of Kennedy.

(25Mockingbird Photography) 22 . Mental Health Guide 2021

CHAPTER

“I LOVE YOU.”

I.

I

t’s only been a few months, but Sarah Nida Inman remembers March 19 like it was yesterday. Then again, it also feels like a lifetime has passed since then; time operates differently after a loss, especially in the case of losing a child.

It was on this day that Inman received a call from her 16-year-old daughter, Kennedy, who was alone in the family’s Hot Springs home.

“Hey, where are you?” Kennedy asked her mom.

This would be the last time the two would ever speak on the phone.

Kennedy was home from school; mom was in Little Rock getting the final arrangements in order for an Inman family vacation. They were to leave for the beach the following day, a trip for which Kennedy — “a real planner” — had already shopped, packed and determined attire, including matching outfits for her and her twin brother, Luke.

“We had a regular phone conversation,” Inman remembers. “She seemed fine on the phone. There were no major indications that anything was going on. I told her that I would be home in just a little while, and we would talk.”

When Inman pulled into the driveway, she saw Kennedy’s body on the ground in the backyard. The rest is as vivid as it is a blur — as dichotomic as the time that has passed. She was already on the phone with her husband, who she patched into an emergency 911 call; he stayed on the phone so that Inman could be “mom” one last time. She scrambled for towels, performed CPR, rubbed Kennedy’s chest, and looked into the light still flickering in her eyes, desperately crying, “I love you.” She did everything she could to keep her baby girl alive.

One of Kennedy’s final acts was gently squeezing her mother’s wrist as she lie on the ground, the life fading from her body.

Kennedy died a few hours later.

Suicide might be the cause forever etched onto her death record, but it’s much more complicated than that. Society could be another.

And stigmas. And systems. Then, the hardest possibility to reckon of all: mistake. At the thought of the latter, her mother’s words fall like liquid lead.

“In that moment, watching her fight for her life … I do not believe — in any fiber of my being — she understood this was forever,” Inman says, her voice cracking but confident. “I know she fought very hard to live. She was responsive, and that is the hardest moment of my life to ever relive. But I'm so thankful that I had that time with her because I got to help her, and I got to tell her I love her.

And I … I got to see her fight to live.”

In the wake of this tragedy, the Inmans have had many postdeath conversations, trying to identify anything that might give them a different perspective of Kennedy’s decision in hindsight. A breadcrumb. A clue. Anything. To date, they’ve found few. She had mental health afflictions that she was working through, but displayed no signs that would have alerted her family that she was in distress to this degree.

“We were confident because we were doing ‘all the things.’ We have a therapist; she has good friends; we tell her we love her,” Inman says, going on to talk about a movie night she had with her dad shortly before she passed, and how she was excited for all of the perks of being 16, like driving her friends around town. “I mean, Sarah Nida Inman. (David Yerby) she was making all the future plans, doing all of those things.”

I do not believe — in any fiber of my being — she understood this was forever.”

armentalhealthguide.com . 23

CHAPTER

II.

“KIDS MAKE DECISIONS, AND, [AS A PARENT], YOU'RE ALWAYS THERE TO FIX IT. AND I COULDN'T FIX THIS.”

I

nman’s words of Kennedy’s final moments land with an unimaginable weight, one she’s been carrying every day since March.

For just as much as she needed to grieve and address her own mental state following the loss, she also had to be the foundation for her family. A sister. A wife. Yet still a mother — to Luke, who had just lost his twin, and her youngest, Landon, 11.

“I learned really early on, within days after losing her, that I was like the barometer for our whole family,” Inman says. “So, if I wasn't having a good day, no one was having a good day. That does make it hard in the grieving process as a mother because, of course, your whole world is shattered, but everyone was looking to me in our family.”

But from the outside looking in, it would have been hard to notice anything about Kennedy that needed “fixing” at all.

Anyone who knew her is quick to rave about the light that she radiated into the world. She was an active dancer, a thoughtful teenager and an intellectual student, with an educational interest in sports medicine. She was considerate and selfless, devoting more of her time to others than to herself. She was, by all accounts, a “good kid.”

And Kennedy was very successful in all that she put her mind to. Pageantry was no exception.

She began competing in the Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen Competition in eighth grade. In classic Kennedy fashion, it wasn’t about the attention nor the accolades, but rather the passion and philanthropy, and the scholarship opportunities that the scene provides. Then there was, naturally, fitting her feet into her mother’s footsteps. Inman competed in pageants when she was in college at Wichita State.

“It was just kind of a natural transition for her,” Inman says.

“She could just marry a few of the things that she already loved into something that would help with her future.

“And she was pretty shy. So it also gave her the ability to get to speak and connect with people that she otherwise would never talk to. She was a watcher. She wasn't the one that would go and spark up a conversation when she was younger. But through that experience, she did — she became the person that likes to talk to others and would grab the microphone at school to speak to people. It was really neat to see her come out of her shell. She

24 . Mental Health Guide 2021

Whether she was in tap-dancing shoes or high heels on a pageant stage, Kennedy always dazzled. (Courtesy)

gained confidence.”

In 2019, Kennedy proudly represented at the statewide competition as Miss South Central’s Outstanding Teen, and in 2020 as Miss Ouachita River’s Outstanding Teen. Her platform was built around the phrase, “Work for a Cause, Not Applause,” which was as apropos of her as a person than anything. In her 16 years of life, she did more for others than most do in a lifetime. She volunteered for Arkansas Children’s, was a two-time recipient of the ACH Miracle Maker Award, and was a member of both the 201920 ACHievers and the 2020-21 class of American Heart Association Sweethearts of Hot Springs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she made more than 7,000 masks, which she would distribute for free to anyone who needed them. Some provided donations for the homemade face wear, every penny of which she gave to Arkansas Children’s.

“Kennedy was a really well-rounded girl,” her mom says.

CHAPTER

“I DON’T THINK TEENAGERS UNDERSTAND HOW FINAL THIS DECISION IS.”

III.

A

ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevenon Kennedy’s already-present mental health struggles, her mothtion (CDC), suicide is the second-leading cause of death er’s answer comes without hesitation: “absolutely, 110 percent.” among teens in the United States. The 2019 Youth Be“I don't blame COVID, but I know that the repeat canceling havioral Risk Factor Surveillance System identified that nearly 19 of everything that was important, all the things that you had to percent of high school students in America “seriously considered” look forward to [had an influence],” she continues. “When you're suicide that year, with 8.9 percent actually attempting. struggling, those little things keep you going. But when everyIn Arkansas, it’s of even greater concern. Nationally, the suithing you ever look forward to is canceled, you start to lose hope cide rate for 2017-19 among the 15-19 age group was 11.2 per in normalcy. Especially when the kids were in virtual school. That 100,000 teens; Arkansas was 15.3 per 100,000. Data compiled by was a huge struggle for Kennedy. She needed people; she needed The Jason Foundation suggests connection. She needed all of that a person between the ages that. of 10 and 24 dies by suicide every “We had a lot of fun in quaranfive days in the state. tine, but I do think it gave some Amid the worldwide COpeople just a little bit too much VID-19 pandemic, this “silent time to think about all the things epidemic” has continued to fester, that were wrong, instead of the even becoming exacerbated by things that we have to look forthe former. ward to.”

Such was the case with KenIf what happened was innedy. In her last couple of years, fluenced by the pandemic, the she was diagnosed with postInmans are not alone. Earlier traumatic stress disorder and this year, the CDC released the multiple personality disorder, her results of a study that tracked mom says. Both conditions, to this dispiriting phenomenon. their knowledge, stemmed from From May 2020 to March 2021, adolescent trauma. emergency visits for suspected “We had a really active relasuicide attempts reached levels tionship with her counselor, and 50 percent higher among girls we had been communicating and aged 12-17 than in 2019. Interall of those things on a regular estingly, among boys in the same basis; she saw them twice a week,” age group, the data remained Inman says. “It didn't matter how fairly steady with previous years, pretty she was, didn't matter how with an increase of less than 4 successful she was — she felt like percent.

ER visits for suspected youth suicide attempts nothing that she did mattered.

The study’s findings outlined before and during the pandemic, U.S. (CDC) She just felt really invalidated. “more severe distress among “She didn't have the same picture of herself that others did. … young females than has been identified in previous reports durBut she masked very well to the public.” ing the pandemic, reinforcing the need for increased attention to, When asked if the novel coronavirus pandemic had an effect and prevention for, this population.”

Despite a wide range of risk factors that include depression, loss of a loved one, trauma, abuse, bullying and social isolation, the overall consensus — be it from the CDC, United Health Foundation or ADH — is that teen suicide is largely preventable.

However, this prevention goes beyond simply “knowing the signs.” Reinforcements and systemic change are the commonly suggested remedies — at home, at school and everywhere in between.

“I do think that people are really good at reading and learning about the warning signs of mental illness or suicidal ideation or any of those things,” Inman says. “But a lot of times, especially when we're dealing with teenagers or other young adults, there are no warning signs. I know that's really hard to hear, but that's why it's so important to have those open avenues of conversation in your homes and with your friends — to notice the small things Deaths by suicide per 100,000 adolescents, ages that might not normally be one of those ‘warning signs.’”

15-19, U.S. (United Health Foundation)

armentalhealthguide.com . 25

CHAPTER

IV.

“I'LL LISTEN ALL DAY LONG — IF THAT MEANS THAT I CAN SAVE SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE.”

I

nman has spent practically her entire adult life helping children. For the past eight years, she’s worked in school improvement for the nonprofit Southern Regional Education Board. In that role, she works with schools in the lower 14 states that are struggling in areas such as proficiency standards or equitable access to education. Before assuming this role, she worked for the Arkansas Department of Education, and prior to that, she was a teacher.

Shaping young minds and making positive contributions to the education system itself has been her way of life. Now, it’s become emboldened as her heart is filled with the passion of suicide prevention, so that other parents don’t have to go through what she has.

“We have to normalize the conversation,” Inman says. “I know that a lot of times, young children especially, or even young adults, don't know how to communicate what they're feeling.

And when they do communicate it to someone, they're sloughed off, like, ‘Oh, you'll grow out of it.’ ‘Oh, you'll get over it.’ ‘Oh, you're just a kid.’ ‘This is not the end of the world.’ People say that.”

Inman remembers times when adults who Kennedy had confided in told her things like, “Oh, you think it’s important now, but it won’t matter in 10 years.”

“Well, to a young person, they don't know that because they're not an adult, and they haven't experienced enough life to know this isn't the end of the world,” Inman says, a pleading chord beneath every tone.

In her mind, one of the most important things adults can do as it relates to this conversation is to get better at listening; instead of telling people how they should feel, listen to how they do feel.

“Even if there's nothing you can do for them at that moment, you can listen,” Inman says. “And I will tell you — I have become people’s safe space. I never imagined, after losing my child, that I would want to be an advocate for mental health, or that I could even possibly carry these conversations every day. But I think people feel safe to talk to me, and teenagers, especially. I get so many messages, every single week, from people because they don't feel like anyone else will listen to them.

“And so I'll listen. I'll listen all day long — if that means that I can save someone else's life.”

At Brookhill Ranch — a summer camp that Kennedy took part in for nearly her entire life — the fieldwork this past summer

26 . Mental Health Guide 2021

Kennedy and family, Christmas 2020.

(25Mockingbird Photography)

centered around mental health. David Pate, the ranch’s CEO, told Inman that she would be shocked by how many of its thousands of campers felt comfortable coming to them with their struggles ever since Kennedy’s story became involved in the curriculum.

Inman also maintains an active relationship with another of Kennedy’s old stomping grounds: Natural State Dance Company. There, she’s kept a sense of normality for herself, so used to playing chauffeur while driving Ms. Kennedy to and from practices and performances, as well as for all the girls, who still feel like Kennedy is a part of everything since her mom still hangs around and helps. But this also means that Inman is regularly available for all of them — no matter if it’s to talk, or just to listen.

“We have to keep this going,” Inman says. “We can't stop.”

I

t sounds so crazy to say, but she's the happiest girl I've ever known,” Inman says of Kennedy. “Her smile would light up any room.”

As Inman remembers her daughter and recounts the many memories, her tears are becoming a sea. But then, a soft chuckle cuts through the sorrow. Another memory. A comforting one, this time.

She says she used to feel guilty about crying all the time after Kennedy’s death. Even when she was reliving happy memories, it was like tears were the only things her body knew how to produce. Then, she was presented with perspective. Inman’s sister sent her a card, inscribed in it an abating mantra, which she paraphrases as, “Our tears are just the symbol of our love that our eyes can't hold anymore.”

That four-letter word — love — is how she’s made it through these shadows, the darkest her life has ever known. Because love is what Kennedy did. Love is what Kennedy was.

After her death, all of Kennedy’s friends started a hashtag, #LoveLikeKennedy, because of how she always made everyone around her feel. It serves as not only a monument to who she was but a lodestar for all to follow. To be kind. To spread love.

“She would wear this shirt all the time that was tie-dyed and said, ‘Be Kind,’ on it. She made it herself,” Inman says. “People would be like, ‘Why are you wearing that?’ She'd say, ‘Because you should try it sometimes.’ She was a really empathetic person. So when other people had issues, she wanted to fix everyone's problems for them.

“She was a true sign of love and kindness, and you just don't see a lot of that. … She was just kindness.”

If Kennedy was love, and all who knew her or of her fill their hearts with it like she did, then she continues to live on through those who are influenced by her legacy.

“I know she didn't leave this earth to hurt anyone,” her mom says. “She did it to free herself.”

In her honor, her mother continues. She’s persistent. She’s unyielding. She’s dedicated. A lot like Kennedy.

“I'm really proud of the state for stepping up this year, and I just hope that it doesn't fizzle out,” Inman says. “This is the leading cause of death for ages 10 to 24, and we can't quit talking (25Mockingbird Photography) about it.” ◊

CHAPTER

“LOVE LIKE KENNEDY.”

V.

She was a true sign of love and kindness, and you just don't see a lot of that. …

She was just kindness.”

armentalhealthguide.com . 27

28 . Mental Health Guide 2021

armentalhealthguide.com . 29

the good

Shepherd

By Dwain Hebda | Photos by Jamison Mosley

T

he meeting room at the recovery center is sparse and clean and, on this day, lit by morning sunlight blown into the room on a gentle autumnal breeze. It’s not hard to imagine people gathering here to discuss their demons and share their hopes for a new beginning. Even empty, the space echoes their stories all around you.

On the far wall, a chipped whiteboard is streaked with marker in multiple handwriting. Gary, Rachel, John.

Names in faded red, purple and black stare back at you in block letters, quilted loops and shaky lines. Jeff, Maria, Billy.

It’d be good if this was a roster of the healed and saved, but it’s not. Linda, Kelsey, Chuck.

These are the names of the lost, the fatally overdosed, the ones known only to some haggard soul still lucid enough to pen their name. Antonio, Jamaal, Annie.

Kyle Brewer’s name isn’t up here, and to know his story is to wonder how that could be. Truth be told, he did his best for years to join this roster and was well on his way to being just another scrawl on a whiteboard, just another pallid corpse discovered under a bridge.

Even today, as he trains others to be a lifeline to those who need help tackling addiction, he’s just four years removed from the bowels of his existence and barely one step from tumbling back in. It’s a milieu he knows and can see clearly from here.

“I put a lot of time, energy, money, resources, my brain, everything … into addiction, into getting drugs, getting alcohol, the lifestyle. It was a full-time job,” he says.

“Education, money, religion, your family — none of that stuff matters. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what you know. Addiction is addiction, and it will take us all to the exact same place.”

For Brewer, the places his addiction led him were gradated shades of darkness. No child is born wanting to use, but looking back on his childhood, it’s hard to see that he had much chance for anything else.

“Growing up, addiction was pretty prevalent,” he says. “My mom and my little sister

30 . Mental Health Guide 2021

armentalhealthguide.com . 31

THERE WAS A REALLY DARK STORY BEING WRITTEN, AND IT WAS BEING WRITTEN RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FACE. BUT IT WAS ALMOST LIKE IT WAS IN INVISIBLE INK, YOU KNOW?

32 . Mental Health Guide 2021

were about the only people that didn’t at some point in time struggle with alcoholism or drug addiction of some sort.

“I was really desensitized to it because it was just normal. I mean, you don’t know something’s abnormal if it’s all around you from childhood. Uncles continuously being arrested for manufacturing methamphetamines, visiting prisons on the weekends with my mom. That was part of my growing up, and I didn’t think twice about it.”

Brewer had taken up the family habits by age 14, first with alcohol and marijuana. It was easy to get, intoxication felt good, and it wasn’t addiction, after all. It's just what people did.

“That was kind of like a theme for me,” he says. “I’d be like, ‘I’m not going to drink,’ but then I started drinking, so now I drink. ‘I won’t smoke weed.’ Now I smoke weed. ‘I won’t use pills; I won’t shoot up.’ I mean, I don’t do it until I do, and then it’s full blast.”

Even when his behavior caught up to him — as it did between age 16 and 18 with three trips to jail, failed drug tests, theft of property and possession collars and a stint in rehab — Brewer defied the stereotype of an addict. His boyish looks and ability to excel in his studies were effective camouflage, and when he cleaned up his friend group and set his sights on college, people who worried over past behavior thought he’d turned a corner forever. Instead, he’d merely stepped up in rank from high school stoner to the big leagues of collegiate partying. Again, all justified as normal behavior in his mind.

“That’s the culture,” he says. “In college, it is perfectly acceptable and understandable for someone to be intoxicated, especially in a fraternity. It doesn’t matter what day it is. That’s just kind of the culture. And it’s not like these people are doing anything really bad. That’s just what people do. On the weekends you go out, you party.”

Brewer would cross many lines at the University of Central Arkansas. Besides booze and pot, he’d only dabbled with pills before college. Then, he got his wisdom teeth out a couple weeks into his freshman year. Once prescribed oxycodone, the devil at his heel stuck a pitchfork

through his spine.

“After the first couple weeks, I’d used all the pills, and I called back to the oral surgeon’s office to say, ‘Hey, my mouth’s hurting.’ They called me in two refills, I think it was 12 or 15 pills each time,” he recalls. “That was enough though for me to realize that, ‘Man, I like these.’ I liked the way they made me feel, and when I’d drink with them, it just intensified it.”

Brewer’s success as a substance abuser was rivaled only by his success in college.

He was a great student and moved into positions of leadership in campus groups and his fraternity. His Native American heritage entitled him to a generous scholarship that meant he never lacked the funds for the party snacks of choice, which made him very popular.

“I had these pillars in my life, as I call them, that helped me keep this image up,” he says. “I had the money. School grades kept family and society happy. The social life in the fraternity made me look like a normal student, a normal person. The different leadership roles I was involved in, that not only communicates I’m doing well, but I’m excelling. All those things together were the things that helped me keep this lie going.”

The most incredible part of Brewer’s college years was he majored in addiction studies, meaning his life was being spelled out chapter and verse in his homework, yet his mind couldn’t allow him to make the connection.

“In three years of studying the science of addiction and all the things that come along with that, not the science, the books, the consequences that I witnessed growing up, none of that pertained to me,” he says. “I convinced myself that someday, somehow, I would just stop doing the things that I was doing in this lifestyle and just move on, just move forward.

“It sounds crazy today, but that paints a picture of the insanity I was living. How could you convince yourself not any of this applies to you? How in the world do you think you’re just going to stop doing this one day? There was a really dark story being written, and it was being written right in front of my face. But it was almost like it was in invisible ink, you know?”

By the time he staggered across the

graduation stage, Brewer was the only one still in denial. Those around him still hoped drug use was a phase and that earning a degree would inspire him to clean up and aspire to something greater. But to Brewer, life was merely a greased trestle, and the real world bore down on him like a freight train.

His parents soon locked him out, trying to shock him straight; he got arrested, wrecked cars and burned bridges with anyone who tried to help. At the bottom, awash in a fetid morass of heroin and homelessness, his mind finally broke.

“February to July 2017 was just miserable and dark,” he says. “I was not a very good person prior to that, but what I turned into then took a much darker turn at this period.

In July, I’m in a hotel room in Benton that I’d been in for about seven days. This girl paid for this room because I made her feel sorry for me.

And what I’m doing in this hotel room is trying to detox off of heroin by using meth.

“Now, this is not my drug of choice, this is not something I do all the time. But I’m shooting up meth in a hotel room by myself, not eating, not sleeping. After about six, seven days of that, I am out of my mind. I think people are out to get me. I’ve been down to the desk a hundred times reporting things that I now know are not happening.

I’m hallucinating, I’m calling my family, I’m saying all these things, and my mom was distraught.”

Finally, an uncle was recruited to come get him, the very uncle who did a stretch for meth manufacture and who Brewer visited in the prison family room all those years before.

Uncle Dave had gotten himself straight and knew where the right resources were around Central Arkansas, dropping his nephew off at Nehemiah House in Little Rock.

From there, hellish detox at Baptist Hospital followed where the residue of his addiction clawed and chewed its way out of his system, knocking him out and back

into lucidity as it went. His parents visited but stuck by their tough-love stance. His options narrowed to get help or die.

try to leave almost daily for the first few weeks, as the monkey on his back howled and spit. But no one would come get him, and so he stayed until things started to make sense. He eventually accepted Christ, found a church and started to gain clarity on what he was and, more importantly, what he could be.

“I learned about my purpose,” he says. “At the Nehemiah House, I learned who I was and whose I was, but I also learned that I was created for a purpose — to love God and love people, all in. Going all in. I can’t keep one foot in the past and one foot in the present. It’s not going to work.”

Along the way, Brewer became trained as a peer specialist, a person equipped to help others take the first steps towards getting better. Earlier this year, that calling turned into his vocation, and he became the peer certification manager for Arkansas NAADAC-The Association for Addiction Professionals, a job he took after working for UAMS where he dealt with addicts coming into the emergency room. He still does that on a volunteer basis, offering them resources and hope. Often, he’s derided by the users, who can’t believe the clean-cut, applecheeked do-gooder could possibly know what addiction is like.

No, not all sheep know his voice, but that doesn’t stop him from searching for the lost ones who can.

“When I look at them, I see myself,” he says. “I’m looking at someone that everybody in the hospital doesn’t see potential in. I wouldn’t have looked at myself four years ago at Baptist Hospital when they were tackling me and seKyle Brewer. dating me and said, ‘Today’s the start of today.’ But that day was the start for me being where I’m at.

“I’d hit the fork in the road,” he says.

“I approach them with the mentality “The fork in the road was not, ‘Hey I want that I’m planting seeds. Not everybody help, I want to stop doing what I’m doing.’ wants help. Not everybody is going to get The fork in the road was facing the reality help that day, but I can plant a seed, and that when I get discharged from Baptist I’m going to be faithful with that responwith literally nothing on but this hospital sibility. I share my story, and then I tell gown, I’m going to be homeless walking them, ‘Today could be your day.’ In just out. And I don’t want that.” a few months, in just a couple years, life Back at Nehemiah House, he’d enter a could look so much different than you can nine-month treatment program that he’d even imagine.” ◊

armentalhealthguide.com . 33

An‘Oasis’ of Hope

By ANGELA FORSYTH // Photos by JARED SORRELLS

C

ourtney Starnes’ journey to recovery began in August 2020 when she arrived at Oasis of Northwest Arkansas. Her drug addiction had landed her in drug court, and she had lost custody of her children. Starnes was certainly at a low point.

“I found myself homeless. I didn’t have anywhere to go, no job, no home, no way to support myself,” she says. So, when the drug court judge offered her the option to go to Oasis of Northwest Arkansas — a transitional living center for women in recovery — she accepted the deal. “I took it, but I thought of it as a place where I just had to be at the moment.” To her, the recovery home was only a temporary living situation. Starnes had no idea the monumental transformation that lay ahead.

Once she arrived at Oasis, everything changed. Starnes found an immediate support system in the other women who shared similar stories of drug addiction, homelessness and custody loss. She noticed that even though these women had suffered terribly, they still wanted to get their lives back on track. That inspired her. Another great support was Oasis Director LaDonna Humphrey, who walked alongside her, guiding her through her criminal case, communicating with lawyers and accompanying her in court.

“Oasis was a big advocate for me,” Starnes says. “In the past, I didn’t have people who could say, ‘This is what’s going on, and this is how we’re addressing it.’”

Starnes had finally found the support she lacked for so long.

Today, Starnes’ life looks completely different. She graduated from the Oasis program in August 2021. She has her own place and is confidently looking forward to regaining custody of her children who have been staying with extended family.

“In my case, there was a no-contact court order,” she says. “So, my story is a sad story just like other women who are here. We get pent up against the corner in a way that we don’t think we can overcome it, and fall into a battle of depression, and it’s hard getting over that. That’s what’s so difficult.”

With drug court behind her and the transitional living program completed, Starnes has a positive view on life.

“Now I have a purpose to give back,” she says. The Oasis alumn gives back by managing Cup of Hope, the coffee shop located inside the Oasis thrift shop. There, she has the opportunity to talk with women who face similar struggles and is able to offer them hope and encouragement. Her advice for others who are in the pit of addiction is sage wisdom anyone can follow.

“Surround yourself with only positive people, places and things,” she says. “You’ve got to dig deep within yourself and find out who you are and what makes you happy. Find your drive and your pur-

34 . Mental Health Guide 2021

Cindy Skoglund.

armentalhealthguide.com . 35

“

You’ve got to dig deep within yourself and find out who you are and what makes you happy. pose and your passion. Those are the things you have to hold onto when you’ve got no one else.”

”

OASIS OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS Oasis was established as a faith-based transitional living community in 2012 when founder Cathy Luck saw a need for women to have a place to stay as they recovered their lives from addiction.

Humphrey explains that resources like this were nonexistent at the time.

“It’s hard to properly work your DHS (Department of Human Services) case if you don’t have a safe place to live,” Humphrey says. “It’s hard to kick an addiction if you don’t have a safe place to live — if you are around the people, places or things that throw you into that addiction to begin with.

That was her dream, and we’ve really grown since then to where we are now.”

In the last few years, Oasis has expanded to two houses in Bella Vista, a thrift shop in Rogers, two coffee shops and an extension program for women on the waitlist. Yet, even with the growth Oasis has experienced and the opening of other recovery programs in the area, there is still a shortage of resources. With a waiting list of 100 to 125 women at any given time, Humphrey plans to open at least two more houses in the near future and possibly another thrift shop. The beauty of the thrift store is it provides jobs for women in the program, and the proceeds help fund Oasis.

Funding remains a challenge for this recovery center. While many people are moved to donate to children’s programs, adult programs have a harder time eliciting compassion, especially when those adults struggle with addiction. Even so, funding is not Humphrey’s biggest challenge.

“I’ll be honest,” she shares, “this is life or death. The hardest part of my job is that I attend a lot of funerals. I have attended eight in the last two years, and it’s really tough. But that’s the reality here.

Recovery is life or death. It’s so critical that Oasis exists because we can be the difference between someone rebuilding their lives or us attending their funeral. That is something I struggle with. It’s a tough job to have, but I think the highs definitely outweigh the lows.”

The highs Humphrey refers to is getting to know the women on a personal level, noting that it can be easy for an outsider to fall prey to a stigma.

“When you get to know them on a personal level, they’re just like you and me; their life just took a different path,” she says.

One of her favorite parts of the job is seeing children reunited with mothers who have worked so hard to reclaim their lives.

“There’s no other way to explain it — it’s an amazing feeling to see people working so hard to break the cycle. It’s courageous,” she 36 . Mental Health Guide 2021

Courtney Haire.

says. Humphrey uses Starnes as an example. “Courtney completed the program successfully, rebuilt her life, became sober, and now she has become one of the coffee shop managers at Cup of Hope. She is completely different from where her life was headed.”

Operating under the motto “recover, rebuild, reclaim,” Humphrey begins planning for the women’s exits as soon as they arrive. She helps women get back on their feet by helping them organize everything they need for living on their own and reuniting with their children.

Many times, this involves helping them gather important documentation like birth certificates, driver's licenses and Social Security cards that often get lost in transition and are necessary for getting a job. Oasis also has a rideshare program where women in a different phase who have cars and licenses can provide transportation for others.

In addition to running the two houses, the store and the coffee shops, Humphrey also works the admission process and is continuously involved in the women’s legal cases.

“I work boots on the ground,” she says. She assists with their criminal cases, attends court hearings, speaks to DHS and meets with women regularly to review their case plan and keep them moving forward.

Oasis recently launched a campaign to help break the stigma of addiction. The website features “Faces of Addiction,” a beautiful collection of professional black-and-white photographs of women in recovery. It serves as an eye-opener and a way to become more relatable to people who may have never experienced or witnessed addiction.

“Every one of us is a person,” Starnes says. “There is a stigma that happens when people don’t have custody of their children, or they had a job and looked like they were on the right track but then lost it. That stigma follows you around and sometimes is your biggest enemy. Overcoming that stigma is really part of the key, and to do that, you have to surround yourself with people who care and understand you.” ◊

FACES Oasis of Northwest Arkansas

is a faith-based women's transitional living community that provides safe, supportive housing for women in recovery and their children.

of

ADDIC T I O N Bella Vista, AR 72715 / 479.268.4340

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Renewal RANCH: A Legacy of Healing and Service

Story and Photos by Lauren McLemore

38 . Mental Health Guide 2021

T

en years ago, in August 2009, an extensive cow pasture just outside Conway was leased by a group of God-fearing men who had big plans for the land.

Today, those 116 acres and the buildings across it make up the faith-based residential addiction recovery facility Renewal Ranch.

Founded on the belief that addiction is a spiritually rooted issue, Renewal Ranch provides a 12-month program for men 21 and older that includes counseling, teaching, Bible study, job skills, work opportunities and volunteer service. The dynamic Christian program has had more than 600 participants and more than 60 percent of men accepted into the program successfully graduate after approximately one year.

Currently, the program is helping 66 men, but Executive Director James A. Loy, who was among those who acquired that original plot of land in ’09, says “The goal is to be helping 100 men on this campus within 30 years.”

Loy, after decades of fighting his own

“I consider this one of

the greatest privileges

that has been in my life.

And it's amazing, but it's challenging."

battle with addiction, found sobriety, built a family, and later answered a divine calling to help other men break their chains to addiction as well.

After only six months of living in an 18-acre newly-remodeled home in Batesville with his wife, he knew it was time to start taking a step of faith toward this God-given dream.

“I wanted to give back at this point, you know. I'd given my life to the Lord,” Loy says. “I was in the shower one morning — and we'd been praying for months — and I just felt like the Lord was calling me to this specific work. He was like, ‘James, every loss, every road you've gone down, all your shortcomings, all your failures, every gift I've ever given you, I want to now turn them around for your good, and My glory.’

“I got out of the shower, and I went to my wife, a lifelong resident of Batesville, and I said, ‘Honey, I know that this is what God wants us to do. And she said, ‘Let's go.’ And so we stepped out in faith.”

On Aug. 1, 2009, the Loy family moved into a house on the Conway acreage, which was then owned by Arkansas Sen. Jason Rapert. Through prayer, community and connection, Loy’s family came together with a few others — the future Renewal Ranch Board of Directors — to eventually lease the entire piece of land, come up with a name, apply for the nonprofit and get to work.

The first building on campus opened its doors Jan. 31, 2011, to eight men, and that 3,500-square-foot bunkhouse was the hub of nearly every activity for the first few years. However, eventually accommodating more than 40 guys, who were all trying to prepare food on a residential four-burner stove, became a challenge.

armentalhealthguide.com . 39

Solutions to these problems and the growth of the program in general led to more facilities. These included a second bunkhouse, a bathhouse, and an auto shop, which is used to maintain all equipment and tractors, as well as give back to the community through providing oil changes and maintenance for other ministries and the Conway Police Department. “[The shop] was built by our men that were here at the time, and we employ three graduates who work full time in the auto shop. Their shop manager is a retired homicide detective for the Conway Police Department, Tommy Balentine,” Loy says.

“We use this as a way to give back to other ministries.”

Community service is an integral part of the participants’ time at Renewal Ranch.

“We are trying to get our men to understand that addiction is the height of self-centeredness, and so each man, when he comes in the program, in the first five months, does 300 hours of community service,” Loy says. “Everything we do is helping them to get out of themselves and follow the example of Christ because Jesus was a servant; He came to serve, not be served.”

Another facility driven by the need for expansion of housing, office space and gathering areas on campus is the newly finished restoration center, which came along in December 2019.

“We did over 20,000 hours as an organization [in 2020],” Loy says. “We really needed those offices.”

The center also hosts community and fundraising events such as weddings, galas and meetings.

“As we grew, there were four infrastructure needs. We needed bed space,

40 . Mental Health Guide 2021

we needed a commercial dining space, we needed a chapel space, and we needed a larger teaching space as we took more men. This is when we built the restoration center,” Loy says. “Since then, we’ve already added on to the front. We added an administrative and counseling wing. We have about 18,000 square feet in this one building.”

This is where it all starts for incoming men. During Phase 1, they live in the housing units attached to the outer perimeter of the restoration center. Three days of the week are devoted to 15 classes taught by pastors and other teachers, and two days are dedicated to giving back by working for others.

“Once they complete their 575 hours of class time and community service — they also have to have scripture memorized, be able to teach a Bible study, and things like that — they move into a transition phase,” Loy says.

In the transition phase, the men are housed in the two bunkhouses and can search for employment while preparing to move back into society.

“Wherever we house men, we have staff that live amongst the men because addiction isn’t something that you manage from afar,” Loy says. “We call them bunkhouse supervisors. They have gone through our program, and God has brought them a little further in their journey, and that’s an entry-level position. We have 27 employees; we’ve grown to that

over the years.

“It is that relatability of [participants] being able to spend time with someone who has been right where they’re at in the throes of addiction.”

The last stage of the program before graduation, Phase 2, is designed to help the men walk out their faith. The men work full-time jobs or go to school, live in apartments provided by the ranch and are required to attend at least half of Saturday chapel services. They’re encouraged to attend and serve at other events as well to remain in fellowship with others who care about maintaining sobriety.

“We have 18 apartments over by Hendrix College that we rent from Trent Management. Up on the hill, we’re going to build a $2 million 42-man apartment complex where we’re gonna move the guys that are living [by Hendrix] back onto our campus. We’re raising funds currently for that,” Loy says. “We’ve already raised over a million dollars.”

Directors and staff at Renewal Ranch

have strived to maintain a safe and encouraging environment for the men in the program. The ranch itself has one way in, giving it an atmosphere of seclusion and serenity, but is also a short drive from the city of Conway. Each man is also paired with a mentor to help him walk through different aspects of his life. During their free time, the men have the opportunity to partake in fishing at the cove on the property or tend to an open 54 acres of land where the organization often holds dove hunts and plants gardens.

“Every man who comes in, we buy him a Bible with his name engraved on it, and we provide all the curriculum materials, all the workbooks,” Loy says. “Once they come, everything is provided. There’s no cost, because we believe Jesus paid the price. … We want them to be able to just focus on them and a relationship with the Lord to find out what it is to walk in victory; how to live a sober, victorious life and to walk that out.”

Over the course of his 23 years in addiction and 13 rehab stays, Loy learned the detrimental effects of financial and relational stressors while trying to overcome addiction.

“It's such a blessing, coming from where I came from, to be able to have an opportunity to go to a place and focus,” Loy says.

“We want the men to think, ‘I don't have to worry about the lights being on; I don't have to be worried about being fed. I don't have to worry about curriculum; I don't have to worry about laundry detergent or toothpaste. All I have to worry about is changing the direction of my life and developing a relationship with the Lord.’

“For a person who was a hardcore abuser of substances, and addicted, like myself, outpatient treatment or a little detox was not sufficient to unravel the mess that I had become. … You're talking about people like me who face spending $50,000 to $85,000 for 30-day or 45-day programs, and they only have a 4 percent chance to turn that around.”

This stress led to Loy trying to pick up the pieces by himself, but he says after trying everything in his own power, what changed his life was “the last place I went and the first place that introduced me to the Lord.”

“Addiction absolutely destroyed everything in my life. As I was going on that dark journey, addiction took me down; it took me to a really dark place. I did things I said I would never do at the first of my

“Wherever we house men, we have staff that

live amongst the men because addiction isn’t something that y ou manage from afar."

addiction. At the end of my addiction, there were no boundaries, there were no ethics, there were no morals. All it was is what it took for me to get high. And as shameful as that is, that's the truth,” Loy says. “I went to John 3:16 Ministries in 2005, and I was broken — all the homes, all the high-paying jobs, all the accumulated wealth … I had a kitchen trash bag with my clothes in it; that was my luggage.

But I gave my life to the Lord. And when I got Jesus, I felt like the richest man in the world because, for the first time, I started experiencing what true love was. For the first time, I had some peace in my life. For the first time, I experienced some joy of the Lord.”

With a more than 60 percent success rate of continued sobriety among participants after one year of graduation, an accepted space at Renewal Ranch is highly coveted.

“We get 10 times the number of applications per man than space we have in a year — that’s people showing up in person with written applications, go-

ing through our interview process; that doesn’t count the emails, phone calls, texts of people wanting to apply,” Loy says. “We've taken men from Florida, from Michigan, from Pennsylvania, from Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, California and Hawaii.”

The main goal of Renewal Ranch leadership and the surrounding community is to continue to see lives changed, chains broken and hearts mended.

“I consider this one of the greatest privileges that has been in my life. And it's amazing, but it's challenging,” Loy says.

“But it's so rewarding. When you see kids get a godly father again, and wives get their husbands back, and parents say, ‘This is the son that I know. I haven't known who this was that I was dealing with for 20 years, but this is my son.’ God is doing amazing things out here. I think it is the Central Arkansas community and churches across the state and people, businesses and individuals, prayer warriors, pastors, teachers that come out here, and the volunteers that make this place so special.” ◊

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armentalhealthguide.com . 41

Celebrating 10 Years of Restoring Lives Renewal Ranch is a faith based residential addiction recovery program for men ages 21 and older, located on 116 acres near Conway, Arkansas.

James A. Loy, Executive Director 501-680-4895 James@RenewalRanch.net

Mailing address:

Renewal Ranch, PO Box 11128, Conway AR 72034 www.therenewalranch.org

Physical address:

45 Lake Drive, Houston, AR 72070

TMS Arkansas TMS Arkansas is deeply concerned about the impact the pandemic has had on society with the expressed mental health burden on individuals. In December 2020 during the pandemic, 42% of U.S. adults reported struggling with depression or anxiety. This is a dramatic increase in symptoms of depression or anxiety when compared with 11% from the January-June 2019 report released prior to the pandemic.

Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic should be to increase intervention and prevention efforts to address associated mental health conditions. To address a patient’s mental health, TMS recommends following these interventions and preventive steps to help manage symptoms: 1) Maintain good sleep. It is crucial for mental health.

2) Maintain a routine or schedule. It helps decrease stress and provides normalcy to the day.

3) Maintain mindfulness. It helps control stress response.

4) Maintain social connections. It helps alleviate feeling lonely and decreases anxiety and depression.

5) Connect with providers of mental health services. Many providers offer virtual contact to address the impact of depression and anxiety.

TMS Arkansas 700 S. Schiller, Ste. 300 Little Rock, AR 72201 501.313.2678 tmsarkansas.com

 /tms-arkansas-114234410119184/ 42 . Mental Health Guide 2021

NeuroStar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is offered by the TMS Arkansas clinic with supportive and invested staff to help patients on their treatment journey. NeuroStar TMS is a non-invasive, non-medication option that can address depression and is free from side effects often associated with antidepressant medications. Patients can explore a safe and effective option conducted in the TMS Arkansas office, freeing them from the impact depression has had on their life.

Our Team offers:

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armentalhealthguide.com . 43

THE EFFECTS of

BEING ‘ESSENTIAL’

By Emily Beirne

44 . Mental Health Guide 2021

Dr. Sacha McBain.

“Flattening the curve,” “unprecedented times” and “the new normal” are all phrases that have been coined by the COVID-19 pandemic and heard in every other news article. Joining the ranks of terms and phrases made popular by the pandemic are “health care heroes” and “essential workers.” With roughly 247 million people who’ve been infected and 5 million dead worldwide, the people seeing the worst of it and treating the worst of it — the heroes and essential workers — have hardly had a moment to breathe between waves of cases and no end in sight.

“We continue to see headlines related to the mental health of the health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic,” says Dr. Sacha McBain. “Stories of flooded emergency rooms, ICUs at capacity, and a seemingly futile attempt to stem the tide of loss and grief have come to dominate the news cycle.

For many of those on the front lines, depression and traumatic grief is becoming a new norm. The acute and chronic stress exposure seem as though they will persist for the foreseeable future.”

As an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Department of Psychiatry, the associate director of the UAMS Center for Trauma Prevention, Recovery and Innovation and a clinical psychologist,

“FOR MANY OF THOSE ON THE FRONT LINES, DEPRESSION AND TRAUMATIC GRIEF IS BECOMING A NEW NORM."

armentalhealthguide.com . 45

McBain has seen firsthand the evolution of mental health in health care workers and essential workers from when times were “normal” to the current conditions.

“Approximately 20 percent of medical residents meet the criteria for depression, and 74 percent experience significant burnout,” McBain says. “An estimated 300 physicians die by suicide each year. Such high rates of PTSD, depression,

The introduction of COVID-19 has highlighted and deepened these existing challenges, and the emotional toll has been referred to as a ‘parallel pandemic.’”

The state’s guiding voice of the pandemic, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), has been facing similar challenges to the essential workers in health care.

“Just like every other individual and

We have had a lot of challenges here at the Health Department and responding to the pandemic, and it has put a lot of stress on our staff, particularly those who are directly involved in responding to the pandemic, with the additional workload and the challenges that go along with the situation.”

The fast progression of the pandemic in the beginning threw the country into

burnout and suicide speak to underlying and unaddressed issues within the health care community and system at large. Health care workers have long been aware of the problems within health care that contribute to poor mental health and interfere with engagement, inadequate self-care practices or mental health care.

family who has faced problems in the pandemic, our employees have had to deal with trying to keep themselves safe and modify their behaviors throughout the pandemic,” says Don Adams, deputy director for administrator operations at ADH. “But in addition to that, we are the lead state agency in the response effort.

a new reality without a concrete guideline on how to move forward, especially in the workplace. The introduction of the label “essential workers” placed a spotlight on the importance of certain professions, while at the same time increasing the workload, and those in health care were at the front of it all.

46 . Mental Health Guide 2021

“Many health care workers have exman the “heroes” of the pandemic are. pressed feelings of institutional betrayal “In some healthier work environrelated to their institution’s shortcomments, there seems to be a varying range ings in protecting their personal safety, of culture shifts, which includes more frustration with the public, and disillutransparency and recognition of the emosionment,” McBain says. “We have also tional impact of the pandemic and the seen people coming together to make many other societal stressors that have powerful changes, band together and gone on during this time,” McBain says. save lives. For some, this has deepened “There, at times, seems to be an increased the importance of their work and what awareness that overworking contributes they have to contribute to their communities.”

In a short amount of time and with the resources availDon Adams. able, health care employers attempting to make the situation easier on workers introduced new programs and initiatives focused on mental health and reducing burnout. “[ADH] has a variety of plans that offer [public health personnel] counseling, mental health services, and we have a nursing hotline that our employees can access,” Adams says. He goes on to add that the department “has an employee assistance program that offers counseling that our employees can access, and this is available to all employees, even if they're not enrolled in a state health insurance plan. Additionally, we have started a ‘Mindfulness Matters’ session monthly that individuals have access to inperson and recorded for online viewing.

“Supervisors are encouraging our employees to take off on a regular basis that utilizes [employees’] leave and take breaks from the stresses of work. Last year, the first year of the pandemic, we had some employees that probably didn't take off as much as they should, and they to burnout and talented people leaving were allowed to carry over the excess the field. This sometimes results in a pivleave to the next year.” ot away from typical cultural messaging Being more open about the mental that reinforces that culture of overwork. health conditions in essential workers However, we still have a long way to go in and health care personnel shows how huensuring systemic problems that contrib-

ute to overwork and poor mental health in the workplace are addressed. At times, the emotional support efforts that employers have extended feels like an ‘addon’ or an additional expectation burden on employees (e.g., if you’re stressed it’s because you’re not handling the pressure well enough) rather than addressing the systemic issues that contribute to burn out and poor mental health.”

The turnover rate in health care throughout the pandemic has substantially risen due to a number of reasons. While the world was confused and scared about what comes next, health care workers may have felt the same fear but did not have the chance to slow down.

“THE TURNOVER RATE IN HEALTH CARE THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC HAS RISEN." “What we know from the field of prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder, is that making space for people to take care of their basic needs or setting boundaries around what they can and can’t do is more much impactful for mental health than, say, access to a free mental health app that you have to find time to use while crushed under growing expectations in the workplace or in the midst of a crisis. We need to move away from training people how to survive untenable work environments, and instead focus on how we change the systems and processes that grind people down.” ◊

armentalhealthguide.com . 47

C

ommunity Service, Inc. is a nonprofit agency that works with children, youth and their families to help them deal with behavioral issues so they can be successful in their homes, schools, vocations, and communities. No child is ever turned away due to their inability to pay for services.

PROGRAMS  Juvenile Justice  Mental Health Services  Prevention & Education  Rehabilitation Day Services  Substance Abuse Services  Therapeutic Foster Care  Youth Leadership Program  The First Tee Tutoring and Mentoring 106 Cherokee Ln. Clarksville, AR 479.754.7296 119 Shake Rag Rd. Clinton, AR 501.754.2956 818 N. Creek Dr. Conway, AR 501.327.9788

1408 East 8th St. Danville, AR 479.495.5177

2503 Harrison Street Batesville, AR 72501 870-569-5112

200 S Peabody Mountain View, AR 501.269.6635

24 E Main Street Melbourne, AR 72556 870-368-0026

203 N. 4th. St. Ozark, AR 479.667.5855

650 BB Eureka Ave. Berryville, AR 72616 870-929-6023

610 E Emma Ave, Ste B Springdale, AR 72764 479-365-7250

1200 W Walnut, Ste B-1100 Rogers, AR 72756 479-278-7028

115 W, Clinton 1505 S. Oswego Ave. Heber Springs, AR Russellville, AR 501.362.2840 479.967.3370

48 . Mental Health Guide 2021

200 Highway, 43 East Unit #7 Harrison, AR 72601 870-280-3468

csiyouth.com ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE 100 S. Cherokee St. Morrilton, AR 501.354.4589

CARE.

From first light, to long into the night. Our team is here doing what we do best, providing you with quality care.

• Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Care • Transitions Counseling Services

Levi Hospital, 300 Prospect Ave. Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901 Levi Hospital – Healing Mind & Body Since 1914 Main Number 501.624.1281 • Transitions Counseling 501.622.3580 Inpatient Unit 501.622.3520 • Email jarrison@levihospital.com Levi Hospital is a 501 (C) - (3) non-profit organization. Financial assistance is available for those who qualify.

www.levihospital.com

The Care You Deserve Our clinic is comprised of a team that is trained to form individualized treatment plans for every client.

renewmentalhealthandwellness.com 2815 Longview Dr. Jonesboro armentalhealthguide.com . 49

The

Pandemic’s Shadow The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been limited to just society’s physical health. Our mental health has been strained just as hard.

Anxiety & Depression

4

During the pandemic, about four in 10 adults in the United States have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, compared to one in 10 in 2019.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

Substance Use

40

More than 40 states have reported increases in opioid-related deaths in 2020.

Source: American Medical Association

50 . Mental Health Guide 2021

Suicide Arkansas has seen at least a 13 percent increase in the suicide ideation rate during the pandemic.

13%

Source: Arkansas Department of Health

Teen Suicide In 2020, mental health-related emergency department visits among adolescents aged 12-17 increased 31 percent compared to 2019.

31%

Source: CDC

Postpartum New moms across the globe reported elevated symptoms of postpartum depression. Instances of postpartum psychosis, a serious and rare illness in new mothers, has increased by more than triple in some facilities.

Source: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Grief and Loss

8,500

As of November 2021, there were more than 750,000 COVID-19-related deaths recorded in the United States and more than 8,500 in Arkansas.

Source: CDC, Arkansas Department of Health

Domestic Violence The number of domestic violence incidents in the United States increased by as much as 8 percent after lockdown orders.

8%

Source: National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice armentalhealthguide.com . 51

Memory AND

AGING: Signs and Prevention

By Katie Zakrzewski

52 . Mental Health Guide 2021

E

very now and then, we forget where we put our keys or phone, and we shrug it off until we find our missing items. But as we grow older, these displacements may grow more frequent and more concerning.

Dr. Jeanne Wei, director of the Institute of Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, talks about memory concerns over time.

“It’s never too early to try to keep as much of your memory as you possibly can,” Wei says. “Over time, we have more and more information to cram into that space above the neck, and it doesn’t get bigger, so we have to prioritize.”

Wei notes that even though we may misplace things when we’re young, doing so while we’re older leads to fear.

“We start to think, ‘My goodness, is my family going to put me in a home?’ It’s not something new, but we worry more about it,” Wei says.

And while Wei acknowledges that there are cases of fairly young individuals who start to show progressive changes, it’s more normal for an older person to begin to show signs of memory problems.

“In our late 50s or early 60s, we start to notice that we’re more easily distracted,” Wei says. “It’s harder for Dr. Jeanne Wei.

us to maintain a focus. The usual, ‘What did I come in here for?

I came in here to get something.’ That’s normal, unless we get to the point where we can’t function.”

SIGNS OF MEMORY PROBLEMS Some signs of memory problems in older adults might include more difficulty multitasking, especially in women.

“Women are especially good at multitasking,” Wei explains.

“After menopause, it will start to become clearer that we don’t do multitasking as well as we used to. Men in this age don’t multitask as well, either.”

Older adults need more time to process information as it is given to them.

“It takes more time because we’re so jam-packed with information that it takes longer to sift through,” Wei shares. “We have a slightly diminished working memory, which is like the buffer of your computer. Your buffer becomes a little smaller because most memory is not dedicated to preserving and maintaining information,” Older adults begin to have diminished visuospatial capabilities as a result of age and diminishing memory functions.

However, there are some improvements with memory and growing older.

“Things do get better for some of us with age,” Wei notes. “Verbal ability and vocabulary improve and creativity increases. Older people more often form new companies as a result of this.”

THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN OLDER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES With memory issues, many older adults may have problems with everyday tasks that they’ve been performing without issue for decades. This can include things like paying bills or following recipes.

Memory loss may manifest through the repetition of tasks or phrases, such as an older person paying the same bill several times, or when they tell the same story several times during a conversation. Conversation as a whole is harder for individuals with memory loss.

“They may have trouble talking to us or joining in a conversation, or they just stop in the middle of a conversation,” Wei says.

“They struggle to participate in conversation with others.”

Older adults may get lost as a result of issues with memory.

“They forget the space that they’re in and have trouble interpreting what they’re seeing. They may forget the time and the day, whether it’s day or night,” Wei says.

Other signs might include personality changes, such as an increase in anxiety or confusion or fear or paranoia.

Other behavioral changes include the misplacing of objects, such as putting mail in the refrigerator, as well as a short attention span, giving away money, and the neglect of personal grooming or cleanliness.

Wei advises that if the task is something that an individual used to do and now they cannot do it, it’s time to be concerned.

WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT? “Literature in the last few years has confirmed that 50 percent to two-thirds of all cases of Alzheimer’s, dementia and dementiarelated memory loss are partially preventable or delayed,” Wei shares. “And all of the potential contributors, we can do something about.

THERE ARE A HOST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO MEMORY LOSS, INCLUDING:

• high blood pressure • strokes • elevated cholesterol • diabetes • smoking • lack of activity (inactivity) • lack of sleep • heart disease • hearing loss • pollution • head trauma • infection • lack of exercise • lack of healthy diet • high sodium intake

“A third of patients who recover from COVID-19 are going to have substantial cognitive impairment,” Wei says. “Exercise is really important, as well as strength training, enhanced longevity.

Diet is very important — vegetables and fruit are our friends, as well as lean meats. We need to focus on a low salt intake because salt raises our blood pressure. We have to keep in mind, though, that older people lose sodium, and so they need a little more than they used to.”

Wei stresses the importance of memory loss awareness.

“This is what we’re here for, to try to talk about this as much as we can,” Wei says. “I’m on the Advisory Council for the Arkansas State Legislature. We’re expecting 100,000 Arkansans to have memory loss problems in the near future, instead of 58,000 who do right now.”

BEING GENTLE WITH LOVED ONES AND MEMORY LOSS Wei shares advice on how to work with a loved one suffering from memory loss.

“If we find that someone is confused about time and space and they don’t seem to be where we are, and they tell us that they think the time is 20 to 30 years ago, we cannot bring them to our time and space,” Wei says. “We need to go to them. We can’t rudely correct them. It doesn’t help. All we do is make them feel bad.

They can’t remember. It’s not their fault. We have to go to them.

We can tell them gently and go to them.”

Wei says that a great way to connect across space and time is through music.

“You might have seen a video recently of Tony Bennett performing with Lady Gaga,” Wei says. “Tony Bennett, at 95, was able to sing every song perfectly and even recognized Lady Gaga. But the next morning when the media went to interview him, he had no memory of the performance.”

Wei mentions that memory loss care villages are starting to spring up around the world. These “villages” are replicated after a past era in history for memory loss patients who are “stuck in time.”

“If someone with memory loss is comfortable, it’s OK that they don’t remember,” Wei says. “We have to make them comfortable and enjoy the time that they’re in, and the time with them.” ◊

armentalhealthguide.com . 53

54 . Mental Health Guide 2021

MENTAL we are HEALTH aymag.com/mental-health-guide

aymag.com

H Building happier, healthier lives

together

In times of hardship and uncertainty, we could all use a helping hand and an attentive ear. Our team of caring professionals are here to provide a comfortable and safe space for you to solve the problems you may be facing. Give us a call and together, we can take positive steps toward building happier, healthier lives for you and your family.

Toll Free: 877.585.8869 • familiesinc.net

Ash Flat armentalhealthguide.com . 55

LessonS From A Cape

By Dustin Jayroe

56 . Mental Health Guide 2021

M

artin Scorsese caused quite a riff in the film world when he said that superhero movies were not “cinema” and that in them, “Nothing is at risk.”

He’s wrong; let’s just get that out of the way. But it’s not easy to just say that of one of the best filmmakers in history. And then, I suppose, he’s also right. It’s complicated.

I wouldn’t dare compare something like Iron Man to a masterpiece like No Country for Old Men, but I would argue that superhero flicks can be necessary, instrumental and, at times, better for the mind than “art” from an auteur.

Take Batman, for example — specifically, in most comic iterations and in Christopher Nolan’s film trilogy. He’s a person with no definitive superpowers and whose only real claim to fame is his surname — and that his parents were murdered in front of him when he was just a boy. He is forever burdened by a toxic revenge syndrome, paranoia and untreated grief. Bruce, er, Batman, more than likely suffers from PTSD, depression and who knows what else.

He’s flawed — deeply. For the most part, he’s found a way to channel his rage into doing good, but he also fails because of many of the aforementioned ailments. He fails when Robin dies in A Death in the Family; he fails when Bane takes over Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises. And, every time, he rises from the ashes of failure and devastating loss to find a way to persevere, to endure — to live. When I was younger, Batman taught me that it’s OK to be imperfect and damaged; we all are, so much so that even he is. From him, we learned that “a hero can be anyone,” and that “it’s not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us.”

As a new father, lessons like these have an even greater weight now. The desire to be the right man for the job, to do right by my boy, is a desire unlike any I’ve ever felt. Among those thoughts, amid a mind laden with anxiety, is the fear of failure. But I find real solace in knowing that when (not if) I do stumble along my son’s journey, I can lean on my old friend in Batman. At a pivotal moment, the caped crusader can help me pass on the lessons that I might lack the eloquence to adequately do alone. Or, even better, when my 18-month-old eventually becomes an 18-year-old with a know-it-all attitude who’s outgrown lame lessons from Dad, I can simply suggest a movie night with the much cooler Batman and trust he finds resonance.

Deep talks about life and mental health can be awkward with adolescents; superhero movies, when chosen wisely, can break the ice and help families get past that first wall.

COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented amount of strife in all varieties. But, we should not forfeit the opportunity to learn from this time, no matter how dark the shadows have become. Mental health struggles in every age group are on the rise, but declining is the stigma that used to surround the topic. Let’s not take this victory, however small, for granted.

I thought a lot about loss — that of life, that of normalcy — when watching Marvel’s WandaVision earlier this year.

(Spoilers ahead.) It’s a TV show built around a foundation of grief under the guise of “superheroes.”

It follows the characters Wanda Maximoff and Vision, who are in love. They live a literal sitcom life of happilyever-after through the first few episodes. The only problem is: Vision is dead. He was killed right in front of Wanda in Avengers: Infinity War. As it turns out, her festered mental health afflictions caused Wanda to use her magic to put a Band-Aid on her problems. She accidentally creates a fantasy world in which he is alive, and they are together. However, she finds out that this “fantasy” is based in reality, and she has essentially taken an entire town hostage, causing pain and suffering to innocent civilians while she attempted to mask her own.

The series’ resolution forces Wanda to say goodbye to this facade, which also means saying goodbye to Vision and their children. She’ll be alone again. Within this climax came one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen.

Wanda: “It’s just like this wave washing over me again and again. It knocks me down, and when I try to stand up, it just comes for me again. … It’s just gonna drown me.”

Vision: “No. No, it won’t.”

Wanda: “How do you know?”

Vision: “Because it can’t be all sorrow, can it? … What is grief if not love persevering?”

Life, at least while we are on this Earth, can be riddled with anguish, heartache and tribulation. But there is no pain without pleasure, no sorrow without joy and no grief without love. As you go forward, don’t be afraid to find lessons like this — for the whole family — in unlikely places.

And remember that it’s OK to not be OK. Even superheroes need someone to lean on from time to time. *** If you or someone you know needs help — no matter how big or small — please utilize the resource guide in the pages that follow. armentalhealthguide.com . 57

58 . Mental Health Guide 2021

ARKANSAS MENTAL HEALTH

RESOURCE GUIDE

armentalhealthguide.com . 59

MEN TA L HE A LT H ASHLEY COUNTY Phoenix Youth & Family Services 870-364-1676 310 North Alabama Street Crossett, AR 71635 phoenixyouth.com BAXTER COUNTY Burrell Behavioral Health 870-425-5644 707 North Cardinal, Suite 7 Mountain Home, AR 72653 burrellcenter.com/arkansas Mountain Home Clinical Office 870-425-1041 700 South Main Street Mountain Home, AR 72653 familiesinc.net BENTON COUNTY FreshRoots Family Counseling 479-986-8655 411 West Poplar Rogers, AR 72756 freshrootsfamilycounseling.com Oasis of Northwest Arkansas 479-268-4340 Bella Vista, Rogers oasisforwomennwa.org Woodland Research Northwest 479-927-3000 609 West Dyke Road Rogers, AR 72758 joinaresearchstudy.com BOONE COUNTY Burrell Behavioral Health 870-741-8484 114 East Crandall Avenue, Suite B Harrison, AR 72601 burrellcenter.com/arkansas BRADLEY COUNTY New Beginnings, C.A.S.A 870-226-9970 412 York Street Warren, AR 71671 nbcasa.org CARROLL COUNTY Burrell Behavioral Health 870-423-1077 1004 South Main Street Berryville, AR 72616 burrellcenter.com/arkansas

60 . Mental Health Guide 2021

CLARK COUNTY Arkansas Counseling & Psychodiagnostics 870-230-8271 2607 Caddo Street, Suite K Arkadelphia, AR 71923 acapcounseling.com CLAY COUNTY Piggott Clinical Office 870-598-0306 111 South 3rd Avenue Piggott, AR 72454 familiesinc.net CLEBURNE COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230 105 South 2nd Street Heber Springs, AR 72543 chenaltherapy.com Methodist Family Health 501-365-3022 515 West Main Street Heber Springs, AR 72543 methodistfamily.org COLUMBIA COUNTY Methodist Family Health 870-234-0739 621 East North Street Magnolia, AR 71753 methodistfamily.org CONWAY COUNTY Community Service, Inc. 501-354-4589 100 South Cherokee Street Morrilton, AR 72110 csiyouth.com

Counseling Associates 501-345-1561 8 Hospital Drive Morrilton, AR 72110 caiinc.org CRAIGHEAD COUNTY Families, Inc. Counseling Services 870-933-6886 1815 Pleasant Grove Road Jonesboro, AR 72401 familiesinc.net Methodist Family Health 870-910-3757 2239 South Caraway, Suite M Jonesboro, AR 72401 methodistfamily.org Renew Mental Health and Wellness 870-243-0424 2815 Longview Drive Jonesboro, AR 72401 renewmentalhealthandwellness.com CRAWFORD COUNTY Methodist Family Health 479-632-1022 1209 Highway 71 North, Suite B Alma, AR 72921 methodistfamily.org The Guidance Center 479-667-2497 2705 Oak Lane Van Buren, AR 72956 wacgc.org

RESOURCE GUIDE DALLAS COUNTY Millcreek Behavioral Health 870-890-4745 1828 Industrial Drive Fordyce, AR 71742 millcreekbehavioralhealth.com

GARLAND COUNTY Levi Hospital 501-624-1281 300 Prospect Avenue Hot Springs, AR 71901 levihospital.com

DREW COUNTY Delta Counseling Associates 870-367-2461 790 Roberts Drive Monticello, AR 71657 deltacounseling.org

Methodist Family Health 501-318-6066 100 Ridgeway, Suite 5 Hot Springs, AR 71901 methodistfamily.org

Southeast Residential Center 870-460-0066 | 888-868-0023 936 Jordan Drive Monticello, AR 71655 centersforyouthandfamilies.net FAULKNER COUNTY Arkansas Families First 501-812-4268 1100 Bob Courtway Drive, #9 Conway, AR 72032 arfamiliesfirst.com/Conway Community Service, Inc. 501-327-9788 818 North Creek Drive Conway, AR 72032 csiyouth.com Conway Behavioral Health 501-205-0011 2255 Sturgis Road Conway, AR 72034 conwaybh.com

Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness 501-624-7111 125 Wellness Way Hot Springs, AR 71913 obhaw.org Ouachita Children’s Center 501-623-5591 339 Charteroak Street Hot Springs, AR 71901 occnet.org Quapaw House Wellness Clinic 501-767-4456 505 West Grand Avenue Hot Springs, AR 71901 quapawhouseinc.org GREENE COUNTY Paragould Clinical Office 870-335-9483 1101 Morgan Street, Suite 8 Paragould, AR 72450 familiesinc.net

HEMPSTEAD COUNTY Arkansas Dept. of Veterans Affairs District Veteran Service Offices: District 8 870-826-4899 205 Smith Road, Suite A Hope, AR 71801 INDEPENDENCE COUNTY Health Resources of Arkansas 870-793-8925 1800 Myers Avenue Batesville, AR 72503 pfh.org Methodist Family Health 870-569-4890 500 East Main Street, Suite 310 Batesville, AR 72501 methodistfamily.org JEFFERSON COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230 7500 Dollarway Road, Suite 401 White Hall, AR 71602 chenaltherapy.com Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare System, Inc 870-534-1834 2500 Rike Drive Pine Bluff, AR 71613 sabhs.org

Renewal Ranch 501-269-4306 75 Lake Drive Houston, AR 72070 therenewalranch.org FRANKLIN COUNTY Community Service, Inc. 479-667-5855 203 North 4th Street Ozark, AR 72949 csiyouth.com FULTON AND SHARP COUNTY Ash Flat Clinical Office 870-994-7060 75 Highway 62/412 Ash Flat, AR 72513 familiesinc.net

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MEN TA L HE A LT H JOHNSON COUNTY Community Service, Inc. 479-754-7296 106 Cherokee Lane Clarksville, AR 72830 csiyouth.com LAWRENCE COUNTY Walnut Ridge Clinical Office 870-886-5303 1425 West Main Street Walnut Ridge, AR 72476 familiesinc.net LEE COUNTY Regional Prevention Program 870-298-2250 593 Highway 243 Marianna, AR 72360 crdcnea.org LOGAN COUNTY The Guidance Center 479-675-3909 174 North Welsh Avenue Booneville, AR 72927 wacgc.org The Guidance Center 479-963-2140 415 South 6th Street Paris, AR 72855 wacgc.org LONOKE COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230 12406 Highway 5, Suite C Cabot, AR 72023 chenaltherapy.com MILLER COUNTY Riverview Behavioral Health 866-302-6731 701 Arkansas Boulevard Texarkana, Ar 71854 riverviewbehavioralhealth.com Southwest Arkansas Counseling & Mental Health Center 870-773-4655 2904 Arkansas Boulevard Texarkana, AR 71854 swacmhc.com MISSISSIPPI COUNTY Osceola Clinical Office 870-622-0592 3201 West Keiser Street Osceola, AR 72370 familiesinc.net 62 . Mental Health Guide 2021

MONTGOMERY COUNTY Counseling Associates, INC: Outpatient Office 479-754-8610 1021 Poplar Street Clarksville, AR 72830 caiinc.org OUACHITA COUNTY Ouachita County Medical Center 870-836-1000 638 California Avenue Camden, AR 71701 POINSETT COUNTY Trumann Clinical Office 870-483-4003 1704 Highway 69 West Trumann, AR 72472 familiesinc.net POLK COUNTY The Guidance Center 479-394-5277 307 South Cherry Street Mena, AR 71953 wacgc.org POPE COUNTY Community Service, Inc. 479-967-3370 1505 South Oswego Avenue Russellville, AR 72802 www.csiyouth.com PULASKI COUNTY Argenta Counseling 501-777-5969 513 Main Street North Little Rock, AR 72114 argentacounseling.com Arkansas Department of Health 501-661-2000 4815 West Markham Street Little Rock, AR 72205 healthy.arkansas.gov Arkansas Families First 501-812-4268 4004 McCain Boulevard #203 North Little Rock, AR 72116 arfamiliesfirst.com Arkansas State Hospital Department of Psychology 501-686-9000 305 South Palm Street Little Rock, AR 72205 uamshealth.com

Behavioral Health Services of Arkansas 501-954-7470 10 Corporate Hill Drive, #330 Little Rock, AR 72205 bhsarkansas.org Children's Protection Center 501-364-5490 1210 Wolfe Street Little Rock, AR 72202 childrensprotectioncenter.org Jacksonville Clinical Office 501-982-5000 2126 N. 1st St., Ste. F Jacksonville, AR 72076 familiesinc.net NAMI Arkansas 501-661-1548 1012 Autumn Road, #1 Little Rock, AR 72211 namiarkansas.org Natural State Recovery Centers 501-319-7074 3600 Cantrell Road, #303 Little Rock, AR 72202 naturalstaterecovery.com Pinnacle Pointe Behavioral Healthcare System 501-223-3322 11501 Financial Centre Parkway Little Rock, AR 72211 pinnaclepointehospital.com Recovery Centers of Arkansas 501-372-4611 1201 River Road North Little Rock, AR 72114 rcofa.org Rise Counseling & Diagnostics 501-891-5492 12921 Cantrell Road, Suite 105 Little Rock, AR 72223 riseforfamilies.com RiverStone Wellness Center 501-777-3200 5905 Forest Place, #230 Little Rock, AR 72207 riverstonewellnesscenter.com Serenity Park Recovery Center 501-313-0066 2711 West Roosevelt Road Little Rock, AR 72204 serenityparkrecovery.com

RESOURCE GUIDE Valley Behavioral Health System 479-755-2321 10301 Mayo Drive Barling, AR 72923 valleybehavioral.com SEVIER COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 870-340-2636 304 W. Collin Raye, Suite 103-A De Queen, AR 71832 chenaltherapy.com ST. FRANCIS COUNTY Arkansas Dept. of Veterans Affairs District Veteran Service Offices: District 7 870-736-7360 300 Eldrige, Suite 2 Forrest City, AR 72335

The BridgeWay 501-771-1500 21 Bridgeway Road North Little Rock, AR 72113 thebridgeway.com

Rise Counseling & Diagnostics 501-891-5492 205 River Street Benton, AR 72015 riseforfamilies.com

The Centers 501-666-8686 6425 West 12th Street Little Rock, AR 72204 thecentersar.com

Rivendell Behavioral Health Services 501-316-1255 Ages: Under and over 18 100 Rivendell Drive Benton, AR 72019 rivendellofarkansas.com

TMS Arkansas 501-313-2678 700 S. Schiller Street Little Rock, AR 72201 tmsarkansas.com Youth Home, Inc. 501-821-5500 20400 Colonel Glenn Road Little Rock, AR 72210 youthhome.org RANDOLPH COUNTY Pocahontas Clinical Office 870-892-1005 2305 Old County Road Pocahontas, AR 72455 familiesinc.net SALINE COUNTY Birch Tree Communities 501-315-3344 1718 Old Hot Springs Highway Benton, AR 72015 birchtree.org

SCOTT COUNTY The Guidance Center 479-637-2468 1045 Rice Road Waldron, AR 72958 wacgc.org SEARCY COUNTY Marshall Outpatient Clinic 870-448-2176 316 Highway 65 North Marshall, AR 72650 caiinc.org SEBASTIAN COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 479-595-0333 5111 Rogers Avenue, Suite 561 Fort Smith, AR 72903 chenaltherapy.com The Guidance Center 479-452-6650 3111 South 70th Street Fort Smith, AR 72903 wacgc.org

STONE COUNTY Mountain View Outpatient Clinic 870-269-4193 106 Mountain Place Drive Mountain View, AR caiinc.org UNION COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 870-340-2636 600 South Timberlane Drive El Dorado, AR, 71730 chenaltherapy.com VAN BUREN COUNTY Chenal Family Therapy 501-781-2230 261 Court Street Clinton, AR 72031 chenaltherapy.com Counseling Associates, Inc. 501-745-8007 2526 Highway 65 South, Suite 201 Clinton, AR 72031 caiinc.org WASHINGTON COUNTY Springwoods Behavioral Health 479-973-6000 1955 Truckers Drive Fayetteville, AR 72703 springwoodsbehavioral.com Vantage Point Behavioral Health 479-502-9190 4253 North Crossover Road Fayetteville, AR 72703 vantagepointnwa.com

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RESOURCE GUIDE Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks 479-443-4301 1100 North College Avenue Fayetteville, AR 72703 www.fayettevillear.va.gov

STATEWIDE Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield 501-378-2000 601 South Gaines Street Little Rock, AR 72201 arkansasbluecross.com

Arkansas Alcoholics Anonymous 501-664-7303

WHITE COUNTY Capstone Treatment Center 866-729-4479 120 Meghan Lane, #9302 Judsonia, AR 72081 capstonetreatmentcenter.com

Arkansas Therapist Connection 1-888-Therapy 4004 McCain Boulevard #203 North Little Rock, AR 72116 gettherapy.com

WEBSITES American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Arkansas Chapter afsp.org/arkansas

Searcy Clinical Office 501-305-2359 1507 East Race Avenue Searcy, AR 72143 familiesinc.net YELL COUNTY Community Service, Inc. 479-495-5177 1408 East 8th Street Danville, AR 72833 csiyouth.com

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DIRECT LINE Bereavement Counseling 202-461-6530 Veteran Call Center 877-WAR-VETS (927-8387) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255 Emergency Services 911 Arkansas Crisis Center 888-274-7472

Arkansas Regional Services Committee of Narcotics Anonymous 800-338-8750

Arkansas Area AL-ANON/Alateen arkansasalaon.org Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration samhsa.gov National Resource Directory nrd.gov State Departments of Veterans Affairs va.gov/statedva.htm

Whole Person Health.

Better Health.

Achieving better health for individuals and communities across our great state is a vision we all share. How we feel mentally and emotionally can impact our ability to live a healthy life.

Behavioral health conditions such as addiction, anxiety and depression can limit healthy behaviors. This connection between our mental, emotional and social well-being are part of behavioral health and have a direct effect on our physical health.

Whether you’re in urban areas around Little Rock or Fayetteville, rural communities across the Delta or anywhere in between, Arkansas Blue Cross is focused on improving the health, security and peace of mind of all we serve because together we can become a healthier Arkansas.

Learn more at hub.arkansasbluecross.com

If you are struggling with mental health issues like depression, anxiety and/or stress, call the UAMS AR-Connect line at 1-800-482-9921 for immediate care.

Health insurance or a referral are not required.

00220.01.03-1121

TO HOPE…

To Heal…

To Laugh…

TO LIVE!!!

11501 Financial Centre Parkway Little Rock, AR 72211 Toll-Free Phone: 800-880-3322 Local Phone: 501-223-3322