NEWS & NOTES

When Debbie Wise found out about the speech her daughter Mallory gave for a class last year, she was surprised. And proud. “I had no idea she was doing the speech until a couple of weeks after she did it. I was talking to her teacher who said she did an amazing job,” Debbie said. Students had been assigned to give a speech about a health topic. Mallory decided to talk about eating disorders. It was the first time she had talked publicly about the issue. “The final line of her

Mary Brand comes from a big family. She is one of nine siblings. “Because I’m right in the middle, I tell them I am the most stable,” she said. “And that makes them laugh.” Even though Brand has a mental illness, she still has her sense of humor. “When people make the comment, you’re crazy, I’m like, I know I am. I have the papers to prove it,” Brand said. “Humor is a coping mechanism for me. It helps me to keep things on the lighter side.” Brand doesn’t allow her mental illn

Anna Oliver’s introduction to the Bert Nash Center came at the right time. That was three and a half years ago. “There was a family member who was going through some issues, so that’s the reason I got involved with Bert Nash,” Oliver said. That personal connection motivated Oliver to get involved with Bert Nash. She’s been a dedicated Bert Nash Ambassador volunteer ever since. “It really opened my eyes that it was OK to talk about mental health,” Oliver said. Her sister-in-la

Bert Nash Center was honored and proud to have the WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) team meet with Steve Maceli, Brandon Eisman, and Tasha Foster for a check presentation and to share how the $10,000 prize Steve earned as the winning contestant in the Transformations Charity Gala 2019 will impact students and families for years to come. WRAP is a Bert Nash school-based mental health program where — working in partnership with Lawrence and Eudora Public Sc

Jeremy Auman has battled depression most of his life. Or, as he said, “for always.” His great-aunt and grandmother did as well. They also had bipolar disorder, though back then it was called a nervous breakdown, he said. The way people reacted toward his great-aunt and grandmother made an impression on Auman. “I saw the stigma that they had to deal with,” he said. Auman, who has bipolar disorder, has experienced the stigma about mental illness himself. He decided to do someth