NEWS & NOTES

When Damian started coming for services at the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, it not only changed his life. It may have saved it. “I used to struggle with suicidal urges, so I honestly don’t know if I would be alive if it wasn’t for Bert Nash,” Damian said. Damian, who is transgender, wasn’t feeling accepted at school or at home. “I started coming out as trans in middle school,” he said. “No one really supported me. I didn’t have a good relationship with school or

We started working with Bert Nash on their marketing materials while I was a designer at Design Brilliance. I was asked to re-brand their Discover Bert Nash program, so I went to the center to participate in a tour. Although I grew up in Lawrence, I’d never set foot in the building. The tour inspired me to make sure that more people in Lawrence are aware of where the center is and all the different kinds of help Bert Nash provides. Taking your first steps inside the doors, ev

How did your involvement with the Bert Nash Center begin? My involvement started by being invited to a Discover Bert Nash Tour. The tour was so well done, and I realized the essential services that Bert Nash is playing in our county. I can still remember the impactful stories that they shared on the tour about the work that Bert Nash does with community training of Mental Health First Aid to public schools having WRAP workers. A simple invitation to discover more about Bert N

Jim Ruane had spent most of his life living in Wichita. When he moved to Lawrence a few years ago, everything changed. For the better. He credits his relocation to Lawrence and coming to the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center for services with putting him on a different path. “It was just kind of meant to be,” he said. “It absolutely saved my life.” Jim had been a successful lawyer in Wichita. In part, he said, because he’s Irish and he’s stubborn. But he went through a

Tiffany Jones has a tattoo on her left forearm that says My Brother’s Keeper. “To me, it represents my need to give back to those who are struggling with mental health or addiction, because I can relate," Tiffany said. About 10 years ago, Tiffany was a Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center client, struggling with her own mental health. Today, she is a Peer Behavioral Health Specialist with the Bert Nash Center Supportive Housing team. The road to how she got to where she i