Advertisement They’re Helen and Ralph Buehler, and Kay and John Degnan. Each couple retired from the La Crosse board of directors of National Alliance on Mental Illness on Jan. 1, and each recorded 26 years of service.
They make a strong case for an award. Let’s study a positive breakdown of each letter in STIGMA: sharing, teamwork, involvement, generosity, mentorship, awareness.
For Helen, 86, and Ralph, 85, and Kay, 80, and John, 82, their journey as “heart and soul” of the La Crosse NAMI affiliate is unending.
Their paths to NAMI began similarly. They were experiencing mental illness in their families and didn’t know where to turn.
In the early 1980s, the Buehlers’ daughter Jeanne and Degnan’s son Paul were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Each family was directed to the La Crosse County Guidance Clinic (now La Crosse County Human Services). There was little family support for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar condition and severe depression, and it was a time when a “danger to self or others” was not enough to receive treatment.
But a movement was afoot for change. La Crosse health professionals suggested that “we start an organization, but we didn’t want to start it by ourselves, so we got others interested,” Helen said.
In Madison, PACT (Program of Assertive Community Treatment) was finding more beneficial ways to treat the mentally ill by daily monitoring patients. PACT came to La Crosse to help organize the Alliance on Mental Illness. Six couples answered the call. In 2007, there were 95 members in the La Crosse NAMI affiliate.
The Buehlers and Degans have been vigilant in carrying forth the aims of NAMI:
Their work has eliminated many stigmas, including one that infers mental illnesses happen because of poor parenting, Helen said.
Ralph added that insensitivities have been addressed.
“When voice mail was introduced, a billboard encouraged people to ‘start hearing voices.’ Because this is what can happen to the mentally ill, we worked until this billboard message was changed.”
There have been challenges finding the right medications for patients, Helen said.
“There are so many new ones. Clozopine is an example of helpful advanced drugs. It has done a great deal for many” to allow a more stable life, she said.
John reflected on the costs of medical treatment.
“It is much cheaper to get at the problem at the beginning,” to which Kay adds: “Mental illnesses are very treatable. Avoid finding the right treatment, and you have an ongoing problem.”
John said: “We are thankful for help received from the county. You have to experiment to find which drug to use. Bills are enormous, and funds soon run out.”
The couples have been lobbying for insurance parity for treatment of mental illness.
“Many states have this insurance, but Wisconsin is lagging so we will continue our efforts,” John said. Ralph offers: “The brain is part of the body. Why, then, isn’t the coverage for this treatment considered equal to other illnesses that affect body parts (that are insured)?”
So you see it would be quite foolish to think the Degnans and Buehlers are no longer involved in some big or small way to build an awareness of mental illnesses to keep an open dialogue.
They attend family-to-family support meetings twice a month at the South Side Neighborhood Center, and maintain an interest in a family-to-family education program series that helps caregivers understand and support individuals with serious mental illnesses. The latest series ended April 22. For information about the next series, call NAMI member Dottie Baumgartner at (608) 786-0933.
Today John is organizing volunteers to join the Knights of Columbus Tootsie Rolls sale this coming weekend at Festival Foods and Shopko stores. NAMI shares in the proceeds for its social agenda to supplement its annual river cruise for mental illness consumers.
The couples believe their challenges and hard work are worth it.
“We’ve come a long way,” John said.
This brings us to Jeanne and Paul. Jeanne, 51, is “doing well” living independently as a volunteer at Becker Plaza. Paul, 57, is a “positive and friendly” resident at Maplewood in West Salem, Wis.
Jeanne and Paul are fortunate to have devoted parents who keep on fighting for them — and for the welfare of many families. It seems there can be no greater service.
Larry Olson can be reached at lolson6311@charter.net or at larry.olson@lacrossetribune.com, or by mail addressed to the La Crosse Tribune, 401 N. Third St., La Crosse, WI 54601.
