University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

Page 28 text:

o U Where Can They Go? Look i pcoffl ofsclioo ' . y n ' ,. success, ton for tane.Y iiize tan yoube uJ hen lose con d.Y jofc, yoi m tun This is H Community

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IBS ' - . ' umw - - ' . Tl 1 ' var fte - i Km L I jiBTijignT -ir- ttUI KIUIII Z4K - I Left: Tie-dye dying? No Way! They ' re selling strong. I Below left: Tie-dye isn ' t just bright and bold. I Below: Let ' s take a closer look! i s I Left: Even the studious are tie-dy- ing. Fashion 23

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Look out world here you come. You ' re out of school. You have a great job and your first apartment. You ' re en- thusiastic, eager, unstop- pable, and bound for success. But one day you forget the way home. You don ' t recog- nize familiar people. You become paranoid and hear voices. You lose control over your mind. You lose your job, your home, and your future. You have schizophenia at age 25, and you ' re homeless. This is not a fictiona- lized plot from a movie or novel; it is the true and tragic past of a man named Andy (name changed). Andy ' s story though, is only one sce- nario which can result in homelessness. It can happen to anyone indi- vidual adults, children, and entire families. In Ann Arbor, there are many people dedi- cated to helping the city ' s homeless and get- ting them off the streets. Ann Nagy is a case worker at the Ann Arbor Salvation Army. Nagy ' s pride and joy is Arbor Haven, a Salva- tion Army operated shelter for the homeless. It ' s not just a shelter it is a program, Arbor Haven is a structured facility, said Nagy. It is not a place for lazy or self -pitying persons to seek refuge for indefin- ite time periods. With soft voices and kind words, the Arbor Haven staff demand progress. The Ann Arbor City Shelter, another local program for the home- less, is run by volun- teers. The Ann Arbor Shelter offers only sleep- ing accommodations. People get off the street here, said the as- sistant administrative di- rector of the facility. A current issue for the city shelter system is the na- tional lack of facilities and professionals who are trained to deal with dual diagnosed home- less people. This is the condition of suffering mental illness and sub- stance abuse simulta- neously. Homelessness is a tragic situation, but with awareness and compas- sion it can be dealt with and alleviated. For Andy, now 35, it is a memory. He now lives independently in a rooming house. He is still treated for his ill- ness, but is able to work part time at a local Ann Arbor restaurant and does activist work to publicize homeless is- sues. Andy declared, I ' m enjoying life. Elizabeth Rutherferd Community 25