By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Andy Ellsworth was living on the streets in Denver for 10 years before moving to Hays and finding the High Plains Independence for individuals with mental illness diagnoses.
Ellsworth slept outside and sometimes would wake up buried under 4 feet of snow.
"I saw 97 people die that way," he said.
When he was homeless, he was stabbed, shot and run over by a vehicle. He was drinking a gallon and half of Jack Daniels a night.
"I know if I would have stayed on the same path, I wouldn't be here either," he said, "because that bottle was calling me pretty hard."
Ellsworth knew he needed mental health assistance, but he thought mental health treatment meant being locked in a padded room.
"I didn't want to be a burden on my family, and I didn't have the will to live," he said.
Ellsworth was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, childhood post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse disorder and agoraphobia, which is an extreme fear of crowded places or of leaving one's own home.
Today, Ellsworth has his own apartment and lives independently. He is also employed as the van driver for the High Plains Independence.
"I can't ever thank them enough for getting me off the street," he said of the support he has received from the center. "There have been a lot of people who have helped me learn along the way. I'm trying to do the same thing. I can't do it with cash, but I can do it with kindness."
Learning what makes you tick
High Plains Independence, 1200 Canterbury, is one of a network of facilities throughout Kansas that are commonly know as consumer run organizations or CROs. The Hays CRO began as a drop-in center in 1992. It is funded through a grant from the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability.
Regina Anderson, the organization's director, said it used to be a place where people came to watch TV and smoke.
"It wasn't encouraged to learn about yourself and understand what makes you tick," she said. …
“You're not your mental illness. That's the thing I like to keep saying. I'm Gina," she said. "I will always be Gina. I will always have a diagnosis, but I don't have to stay on the negative side of that diagnosis."
The organization has evolved to offer mental health recovery classes, support groups, life skills classes, social activities and outings, employment and volunteer opportunities for the members.
"We teach them about their disease — about what they want to know about their mental illness. We teach coping skills. We encourage just talking things out and finding someone you feel like you're connected to," Anderson said.
"We offer educational and leadership opportunities, as well social opportunities. A lot of these clientele tend to be isolators. This would help them get out"
CRO as family
Despite Ellsworth’s agoraphobia, he's been able to speak about his experiences to groups, including patients at Larned State Hospital.
"The CRO means everything to me. It's like family," he said. "You cannot get enough help to get you through things, because counselors only know so much and can do so much. You come out here and you have other people who’ve been through the same thing or not exactly the same thing, but they've been through the wringer also. …
"You can cry on someone's shoulder,” Ellsworth said, "and you’ve got nine other shoulders to carry the burden with you.”
Anderson said people who have severe mental illnesses often become estranged from biological family members because of addiction or their past behavior.
Ellsworth was estranged from his biological family in large part due to his alcohol addition and mental health struggles. With the support of his CRO "family," he was able to have a meaningful reunion with members of his biological family.
Building hope with peers<br>
The CRO is also an organization that Deb Michels said also saved her life.
Michels is an alcoholic in recovery and has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder — a spectrum of elevated and deeply depressed moods. She first started receiving treatment in the 1990s, but continued to struggle with her illness for many years.
She moved to Hays in 2018 and started receiving services from the community mental health center, High Plains Mental Health. Workers at the mental health center suggested she try attending programs at the CRO.
"I found it very helpful to me because I needed a support system," she said. "The more I came, the more I felt at ease with people like me. Between 1992 and 2018, I was just floating out in space, feeling really lost.
"Then I got here and I felt like I had hope — hope of being with people who are like-minded."
Michels used to be a licensed addiction counselor. She thought she should be able to pull herself up by her bootstraps, but she found she needed the help and support of others. The CRO provided that peer support she needed.
Phyllis Parke began coming to the CRO in about 2019. She also has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and was going through a major medication change, as well as a divorce.
"When I came here, all I got was support and 'We understand' and 'We know where you're coming from,' " she said. "I felt it and I knew it. The peer support was what got me through the transition. ...
"I needed that peer connection — someone to be a family to me," she said. "I believe I wouldn't be here either if it weren't for someone suggesting that I drop by."
The CRO is open 2 to 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It has about 30 members. Members can come and go as they please.
"You use it for when you need it," Anderson said.
Expanding services through transportation<br>
The CRO recently purchased a new van, and Anderson said she is hoping to use it to expand services to outlying communities.
Anderson said this could include Ellis, Russell or Plainville.
The CRO's old van, which was used not only for transportation for members to and from the center, but for group outings, had no heating and air conditioning.
The CRO is a 501(c)3 and is taking donations to help pay for the van. Checks can be made out to High Plains Independence and mailed to PO Box 956, Hays, KS 67601.
Those interested in learning more about services can contact the CRO at 785-621-4188.