Jean's Story

On March 19th Jean and her roommate, Robert, threw a house warming party and invited the staff from CSP's northern Region. The team was so impressed with what they saw that they suggested featuring the apartment on our web site. That's where I came in. On March 28th I met with Jean to take pictures of her apartment and help her write a bio for the web site. Although Jean, a schoolteacher by profession, is currently writing a children's book, she was too modest to write something about herself. So, she asked me to interview her and write something up for her. I agreed.

I arrived at her apartment about 20 minutes early but she wouldn't let me take the pictures until she was ready. Jean and I talked as she pruned over a dozen long stem flowers (they appear on the kitchen table in the photographs). She explained that everything in the apartment came from thrift shops and second hand stores. As we talked, I watched as she took what appeared to be wilting and dying flowers and carefully pruned them into a very beautiful display. It occurred to me that this was what she and Robert have done to the apartment. They carefully pruned it into the comfortable and beautiful living space it is today. We discussed her interest in gardening. I promised to come back in the late spring to take pictures of her gardening efforts in front of the house.

When I asked her why she had the party she shared with me that she wanted to show the support team that she and Robert are all right. "I know how they worry and I know when they worry, they come around more. I just want to let them know that we are OK." I mistakenly assumed that she went through all the trouble of decorating the apartment just for the party. Jean soon set me straight. "You don't think we did all of this just for the party do you? We did it because this is the way we want to live." Jean described the deplorable condition of the apartment she and Robert lived in before coming to CSP. She said, "We often talked about how we would decorate it when we got a decent place. Well, this is it." When I asked Jean about why Robert's room was purple she told me I would have to ask him. She also stated "He likes purple!" Unfortunately, Robert was not there so I couldn't talk to him about it.

As I sat down to write Jean's bio, I began to think about my experience on the day I went to take the pictures. It was such an uplifting experience for me. I realized that I have come to admire both Jean and Robert - not only for the beauty that they created in their apartment, but also because they have actualized a dream. I know much of their story. They overcame many obstacles by supporting each other. By each compensating for the other's weaknesses, they created synergistic areas of strength. They advocated for themselves, sought out the services that they needed, navigated the mental health system in a non-traditional way, and now they are moving on in an attempt to achieve other life dreams. Jean, good luck with your book!

To see the pictures of Jean's House Click here

John J. Kulesza, MSW, LSW
Director of Supportive Services, CSP-NJ

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