Video shows importance of work

Lenora Warden practiced taking the bus to a new job at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. She ran into her new boss, who reminded her she didn't start for a week.

"I said, 'I know, but I wanted to find my way.' And he says, 'Well, You have found your way.' And that's all it took," Warden said. "When he said it, it was like a light went on."

For people such as Warden with mental illness, a job is a crucial part of life. The Division of Mental Health in the Department of Social and Health Services has produced a video on the subject, featuring the stories of people who face similar challenges.

"What we hear is how important that is to recovery. It's one thing if a person goes into a hospital, and gets some treatment and gets discharged into the community. That's fine, but that's not what most of us aspire to," said Andy Toulon, a division employee who collaborated on the project.

The 17-minute video, "I Want to Be," begins airing on cable TV channels statewide this week.

By taking a modern documentary-style approach — Toulon compares it to an episode of "This American Life" — the broadcast should interest mental health professionals, those dealing with mental illness and employers.

"When you first approach employers and you say, 'Hi I'm from mental health services and I would like you to consider hiring some of the people who come to us for services,' it's not the grandiose reception," Toulon said.

But employers who have hired people with mental illness often find the workers are willing to confront their issues directly and often have a strong work ethic because of their desire to contribute, he added.

In the video, several people talk about the importance of work in their lives. Stories include Rob Chevernelle, who went from depression to owning his own moving business, and Randy Revelle, who dealt with mental illness while managing a successful political career, including being one of the youngest people elected to the Seattle City Council.

Warden had been homeless for years before joining Rose House, a recovery center in Tacoma. But once off the streets, she found it difficult to re-enter the workforce.

"One of the first thing they ask you in social circles, or when you go to church, they ask you, you know, 'Where do you work?' What answer can you give them? I didn't want to lie. I could phony and lie, and say 'I'm exploring a career.' But I didn't want to answer those questions," she says in the video.

After landing the job as a dishwasher at the university, she was asked to become a shift leader. She was able to buy new clothes and, more importantly, she gained self-worth.

"That made me a citizen of Washington, not just someone who goes to a facility to get what's left over," she says.

The $40,000 video was directed by Staci Bernstein of Hero Labs, and paid for with a federal grant. In addition to airing on University of Washington Television, which is carried on cable stations throughout the state, the agency plans to show it to groups statewide via DVD.

"What we want to do is really get it out to as many venues as possible, to touch as many people as possible," said Frank Lopez, another division employee involved in the project.

He said the agency has arranged with a researcher at Washington State University to track the change in perception, if any, the presentation sparks in viewers.

And he said just talking about mental illness in the workplace is a step in the right direction.

"I hope people don't underestimate the significance of those three individuals and the other folks on the video being able to talk so publicly about mental illness," Lopez said. "Even though that's improved in our country in terms of just the discrimination against people with mental illness, and the stereotypes, it's still … a big deal for people to come out, so to speak."