Library Night

Before I write about Library Night, I wanted to say a few personal things about my observations with my son. My son was on medication for twenty years. Once he had been on it for a year, he improved greatly, and got better and better for the next 14 years. The last five years of his life, it began to lose its efficacy and he went downhill. In his case, it manifested in super high anxiety and panic. Fight or flight nearly every waking moment. The reason I felt called to tell you this is to tell you not to necessarily assume a similar result with your son. John had 4 friends, all his age, all on the medication and all peer mentors at the Center for Mental Health. Paid positions. For us, John was the odd percentage that saw a failing by the med because of longevity. He was on it for twenty years. The odds are much more in favor of that not happening than of it occurring.

LIBRARY NIGHT
My son struggled with schizophrenia from age 14 until he passed away at age 35 at the mental hospital where he was a client for his last 3 years. Visiting two or three days a week, 30 miles away each way, I was struck by how little the clients had and how far removed they were from current technology. VCR’s. Cassette tape players. Mimeographed sheets instead of apps. Definitely not the fault of the staff. I made it my mission to change that as much as one person can. Over a period of 2-3 years, I gradually acquired 7 iPads, a similar number of headphones and two Verizon hot spots. Two or three Tuesdays a month, the clients who have earned the privilege come to the library for Library Night. It is an old school 50’s library. Well run and nice, but not especially cool. The library has a few PC’s but they still run XP, even though it is no longer supported. You get the picture. They don’t run well and getting money to update is nearly impossible.

On the nights I’m there, clients come in small groups, 4-6, from each of the teams. They come to me. I give them an iPad, connect them to the hot spot network and then log them into YouTube. The large majority have never used an iPad and are a little reluctant at first. Once they become comfortable, all that changes. For me, it is the most wonderful experience ever. Clients are not allowed to access password protected sites, so no Facebook, e-mail, or banking. I hope someday we can find a safe way around that, but what they get from music is truly flabbergasting. The moment a client is logged into his favorite music, heshe is no longer at the hospital. They are inside the music. Given the fact that they have headphones on, they can’t hear one another, but they all sing, dance and display the happiest countenances you could imagine. All the staff that have accompanied them are able to just sit and watch. Little supervising is necessary. Even individuals who came with two staff persons for one client. They use every second of their time there, and when they leave, they grin, give me a high five and leave considerably happier than when they entered. I don’t need a car to drive home. I can just float home, buoyed by the joy I feel at seeing them so happy.

At times it is frustrating to run into the negative aspects of HIPAA. I wish I could take a video and show you, but of course, I cannot. What I hope I have done is paint a picture of the wonder this opportunity affords for them. It ought to be happening everywhere. As colloquial speech would say, it’s Da Bomb.