Finding a New Lease on Life with the Wellness Support Group
“If I was a millionaire, guess where my money is going. Here. My life has opened up since coming here,” says Norris, a longtime patient of BHCHP. After enduring a long journey of homelessness, Norris is currently housed and working as a street ministry pastor in Greater Boston.
Norris grew up in Boston and lived a difficult childhood that led to early drinking and serious mental health challenges. With his mother absent due to alcoholism, he grew up neglected, both physically and emotionally and from a young age, he relied on alcohol to cope. After several inpatient stays with diagnoses of manic depression, bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorder, Norris tried to end his life. It was then that his family members connected Norris with his biological mother, who was in recovery. Once he finally met and rekindled his relationship with his mother, he began to turn his life around for the better. His mother’s advice for recovery moved him. She had said, “Son, you have to find something in your life so important that it becomes your focus. For me, it was being able to see you in my life again.”
In 1989, Norris began his recovery journey at Long Island’s Andrew House Detox Center. While experiencing homelessness in Boston, he also stayed at our respite program and still fondly remembers the compassionate care shown to him by the nurses Barbara McInnis and Stacy Kirkpatrick, whose names are eponymously etched into our two respite sites. And for nearly 30 years, he has been cared for by Dr. Esther Valdez, a BHCHP psychiatrist and Director of Behavioral Health Services. With BHCHP’s consistent and skilled care Norris says he “trusts BHCHP with everything,” including his primary care and weekly group therapy sessions.
Two years ago, Norris was diagnosed with diabetes, a disease he knew well as it ran in his family. The diagnosis frightened him. How would he handle this new disease while living with his other existing health conditions? Fortunately, he was connected to our weekly wellness support group which he says, “helped me become aware of my health” and to proactively reduce his A1C level. The group showed him how to control his portion sizes and to be aware of his emotional eating. Norris shares, “Diabetes isn’t just what you eat. It’s a mental condition as well. This group has become my family and we care for each other. We have seen each other’s growth. Before this group, I gave up on myself. Now, when Wednesdays come around, I can’t wait to go to this group.”
Led by our clinician Patricia Cullen, this simple and effective wellness support group has been running since 2016. Although its original focus was on managing diabetes, the group has broadened its goals on overall wellness support and education, as our patients often present with multiple co-occurring health conditions. Health education is critical to empowering patients to manage their wellness, making healthy choices. And taking the time to sit down with our patients to build trust, connection and community is key to helping them rebuild their health and lives, one step at a time.
Norris continues to receive his care at BHCHP– to meet his needs and the needs of patients like him, “I like to advocate for things that matter. I’m so grateful to BHCHP because it has saved my life through the years. I’ve never seen this place turn someone away, regardless of the situation. If I could pass a message on, I’d tell them to donate here.” We are grateful to Norris for sharing his transformative story.
At BHCHP, we know that the exit out of homelessness is a complex process and we are right there to support our patients along the way. To our individual, corporate and foundation donors who make this work possible, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us best serve our community in need.
