Ferguson Fun :)

I apologize for the three cheesy rhyming titles in a row, I'm not sure where these are coming from. None the less, this week was my first week of my new clinical: Mental health. Going into this rotation I was NOT excited about it. I already had the idea that mental health was definitely not in my options of things that I would ever want to do. So I admit I had a negative attitude about starting this clinical. Also we are in an apartment building that doesn't have any nurses, so I wasn't seeing how nursing was going to fit into this place. I had heard that the majority of this rotation was just talking to residents, playing cards and hanging out, which sounded like fun but I didn't think I was going to get anything out of it. I also was feeling very nervous about talking with the residents, since most of them do have a mental illness. After three days I have a totally different opinion of this clinical and the things that I am going to learn from it.

First I guess i'll give a little overview of my clinical site. Ferguson Apartments is a building with 101 single-resident apartments. The building used to be a hotel until it went out of business and was purchased to be used as a place for the homeless to live. There is a whole lot of interesting history of how the apartments came to be, but I will spare you the details. In order to live at Ferguson the residents have to have a disability (either physically or mentally) and be otherwise homeless. The majority of the residents there, probably 75%, have mental disabilities, and even many of those with physical disabilities also have some kind of mental problems. So on Wednesday we met our clinical instructor and got an introduction to Ferguson and all of our assignments, started learning about some mental illnesses, and other fun things. Then we went out and met some of the residents. We sat in their big conference room and played cards, games, riddles, etc, and just talked with them. It was uncomfortable at first, but as the day went on and we started getting to know them it got better. It was very "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" because it was raining and we were in this big room with a skylight, while residents were wandering in the lobby, some having conversations with themselves.

Thursday we went on a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood near Ferguson to find resources that the residents can use. Some of the places were Good Will, soup kitchens, missions, shelters, grocery stores, the library and more. One of the residents came with us to show us around. It was awesome to see all of the resources that are available for those who are homeless, struggling with drugs and alcohol, or just need help. A couple of us took a tour around Mel Trotter, which is a shelter and program for people with drug and alcohol problems. They can house up to 180 men each night. It's an incredible place and it was amazing to see all of the things that they do. Later in the day we took another walk, with a resident who took us around downtown and told us about his life being in and out of jail, losing his family, and ultimately ending up homeless on the streets of Grand Rapids and how he ended up in Ferguson. It was so interesting to hear him talk about all that he has been through and how happy he was to have a home. We went to see the Fishladder, which is something I will probably take anyone who comes to visit me to see. Also the walk made me realize how absolutely beautiful Grand Rapids is. We also took the picture of us in the giant button :)

Friday we went bowling with the residents! We took the bus to the bowling alley and bowled a few games with them. There were I think 7 residents that came with us. It was so much fun to spend time with them. We had two students and two residents on each lane so we got to really get to know the people that we were on a lane with. Most of the residents that we are spending time we with have schizophrenia and many of them have a variety of issues that go along with that. But I'll tell you, they are changing so many of the stereotypes that I have about mentally ill people, and I now have no doubt that I will probably learn more here than I ever thought I would.