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Outcomes

The New Mountain men

Berkeley Mental Health
Those they serve

interviews and photos by Richard Bermack

Brian
“I’m still homeless, but I’m getting SSI. It is a lot better with SSI because I don’t have to dig in the trash for food. Sometimes when it’s raining you can hang a tent where they don’t mess with you, and you can read or listen to the radio, and it is very peaceful. It is kind of like a long fishing trip, except I don’t want to do that for the rest of my life.

“The court gave me an appointment to see a social worker. I was leery at first because either someone is your friend and they really want to know about you or it is just a job. But I got lucky. There was this one social worker and she helped re-socialize me. I was very alienated and withdrawn because the kind of social contact available to me on the street was not what I wanted. And the people I liked were either scared of me or contemptuous. So she got me back in touch with the human race and made me feel like it was possible. I was attracted to her and told her that. She said it was okay but that nothing was going to happen. It is like you have a broken leg and are starving on the side of a mountain, then someone nurtures you back to health. Of course you are going to love them.”

Stephen
Stephen is a talented artist who does computer graphics at home. “I first entered the mental health system in 1971, when I was hospitalized because I lost my identity through drugs. I was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, which I think they had wrong. It’s actually bipolar. For many years I got worse. They gave me Thorazine, which is very disabling. The medication I take now makes me feel crystal clear and helps me keep my head together. If I didn’t have medication, I would revert back to being 17 years old and have a bad attitude, acting like whatever I do is cool and tough. Then people would laugh at me, and you get way out there. The medication keeps me as me. “

Chris
Chris’s mother was diagnosed as bipolar and he is diagnosed as having a schizoid affective disorder. If he doesn’t take his medication he suffers from hallucinations. “I get really pumped up, and if I get too pumped up I might do something silly and get arrested. I’m not in control with my body or head,” he explains. After living in halfway houses and graduating from an independent living program, he is living with his girlfriend. “It feels real good to have my own place,” he says. He is attending Vista Community College and taking creative writing classes.
“I go to different programs in the community, like the Creative Living Center. They had an art show for their 30th anniversary. We filmed the stuff that was on the wall and then went back and got the people to say things about their art. Now I’m taking a video class. I like helping out. I help the art teacher set up, or help run a group or do prep for the food. Whatever I can do to help people makes me feel good.”