After I got the news, I began to look through our photo archive. There were dozens of pictures of Delores, all with engaging smiles that made me chuckle amid my tears. One of our “original” members, she’s present in photos from Christmas parties, retreats, daily activities, Thursday Night Life services. Delores passed away this week from COVID-19, but she left behind family and the entire Well Community who experienced her generous love and enthusiasm for life. Continue reading
“Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones that would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what.” (source unknown)
Angel, Well member
Members of The Well Community know these thoughts to be so very true. And being at “home for the holidays” means many different things to our members. Because of stigma, homelessness and other challenges that often come with mental illnesses, some of our members have learned to develop family units with people who understand and share their lived experiences. Some do live with their family of origin, while others live with siblings or with a spouse. And as described below, some live together as members of The Well. Continue reading
Who among us has not heard the echoes of isolation? Often a sense of loneliness can overwhelm us. During these times it’s easy for anxiety to rule and fear to hold tight. Those who deal with chronic and severe mental illnesses experience this even more deeply. Stigma, rejection and misunderstanding often force them into a never-easing aloneness. Except at The Well Community.
Here members find the company of others who understand, care and accept. Here those living with debilitating mental health difficulties can be themselves and still belong. Here, through the generosity of donors and the kindness of volunteers, those marginalized by society are encircled by help and hope.
In our 2019 Annual Report we share stories of ways our members find encouragement through community. We tell how they are able to give as well as receive and find opportunities to grow as well as heal. We also provide some facts and figures, in addition to lists of special thanks. Together that information demonstrates how members, donors, volunteers, interns and staff make up the community that is The Well. Continue reading
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We can’t think of a better way to help you better understand mental illness than to hear from two of our members as they share a bit about their own journeys. Continue reading
After suddenly losing his job over a decade ago, Anthony felt something inside him break. He soon found himself homeless, sleeping in a park or abandoned building. He recalls the street as a place where everyone wants to be somewhere else, but no one knows how to move away from their present situation. Continue reading
Rita, second from the left, spending time with some of her friends from The Well at the spring spiritual retreat.
Rita’s struggles with her mental health began nearly four decades ago. “It started when I had a baby,” she says. Her suffering from postpartum depression eventually led to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder—and a long and difficult path of dealing with a serious mental illness. It is with pain that Rita recalls being hospitalized and strapped to a bed due to the condition she’s dealt with for so long. Continue reading
Rita, Viola and Sharon always sit together. Viola is Sharon’s mother, and Rita is Sharon’s best friend. The Well Community is their meeting place. “Rita was my neighbor at the apartment building I lived in and invited me to come to The Well with her one day. She has been coming for years, but I joined about six years ago. We come here most days and talk to everybody,” Sharon says. Continue reading
Lydia at the 2017 Well Community Spring Retreat
Seven years ago, Lydia was introduced to The Well Community by the man who would become her husband. She met Bill on the bus, and he shared with her about Jesus and invited her to join him at The Well. Two years later, he presented her with a ring, and the couple was married there, Lydia in a royal blue dress and Bill in a navy suit.
To Lydia, The Well is far more than the place where she got to know her husband. It’s a place of support in a world that often views those dealing with mental illness through the lens of stigma, treating them with prejudice or even cruelty. Continue reading
About a decade ago, Anthony was a young man working for FedEx, loading and unloading boxes from trucks in North Dallas. But when he suddenly lost his job, something inside of him fell apart, he says.
“I just couldn’t deal,” says Anthony. “I just fell into nothing.” Continue reading
Akintunde, on the far right
For 20 years, Akintunde worked as a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor in Dallas, Arlington and Grapevine, helping men and women who struggled with drug addictions receive appropriate treatment. When he retired several years ago, Akintunde quickly realized the copious amount of downtime wasn’t for him. He wanted to be active and productive, and despite a diagnosis of glaucoma that left him with peripheral vision so limited he qualified for medical disability, he decided to go back to school. Akintunde is now a graduate student working toward a master’s degree in social work with a concentration in mental health and substance abuse at the University of Texas at Arlington. As part of his graduate degree requirements, Akintunde interned at The Well for eight months. Continue reading
