By FINN BULLERS - The Kansas City Star
Date: 12/14/00 22:15

Mental health educators at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare are hoping to expand the Consumer as Provider training program. To find out more, call program director Diane McDiarmid at (785) 864-4720 or education liaison Anna Speckman at (785) 864-2376.

After years of struggling with depression and stress, Jan Hanson and Carrie Hunter are learning that you can help yourself by helping others.

Hanson, 36, of Olathe, and Hunter, 44, of Kansas City, Kan., graduated Thursday from a program designed by the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare to train those with chronic mental illnesses to become care providers.

"The thought is, the students have been there, they've done that," said education liaison Anna Speckman, who helps teach the classes. "They will be able to be great providers because they've had setbacks and they've gotten on their feet again."

About 100 friends, family and mentors gathered Thursday at KU's main student union in Lawrence to help Hanson, Hunter and 26 other students from four counties celebrate another step on their road to mental health.

Since September, students have attended class three hours a week for 15 weeks, attended group sessions for three hours a week and served a 100-hour internship.

They have learned new coping and problem-solving skills, as well as confidentiality requirements and ethics rules necessary to become an attendant-care worker.

Students are trained to help others shop for groceries, do household chores and get on with their lives. They can earn $8 to $10 an hour.

To qualify for the Consumer as Provider program, a student must have a high school equivalency degree, be diagnosed with a severe and persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia or manic depression, and receive mental health services.

The class, textbooks and supplies are paid for by a federal mental health grant.

The program, in its third semester, has a 91 percent graduation rate.

Students who better understand mental illness and their rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act no longer buy into negative stereotyping of the mentally ill, program director Diane McDiarmid said.

And within weeks of the start of class, the hunched shoulders and timid responses from her students blossom into straight posture and robust questioning, she said.

"There's something really powerful in becoming a student," she said.

Hanson knows the feeling.

"I've learned a lot from class," said Hanson, who has applied for a job with the Johnson County Mental Health Department. "I'm now able to cope with my illness better. And once you've been there, you can understand what others are going through. It's not just a `I read about it in a textbook' thing."

Hunter hopes to return to college next spring to earn a bachelor's degree. She wants to be a wellness coordinator.

"I told myself I want to live life to the fullest," she said.

Next spring the Consumer as Provider program will be offered in a rural setting in southeast Kansas and at Wichita State University. McDiarmid hopes to duplicate the program across the state and even the country.

"For many students, this is the first time they've actually accomplished something," she said. "It puts a big smile on their face."

To reach Finn Bullers, call (816) 234-7705 or send e-mail to fbullers@kcstar.com