Jaquot Psychiatric Facility

One Saturday morning at Jaquot I asked, "Have you ever had a plan that didn't work out? Or maybe you thought something should happen a certain way, yet it turns out totally different. Does anyone have any examples?" Miriam raised her hand and said, "Yes, I was married and had a beautiful baby, but then I got sick and my husband also thought I was sick and had problems. He brought me here and left.... he'll come back after a while."

Miriam is a beautiful woman. Sometimes I even wonder if she belongs in the Psychiatric facility. Yet, she is there and has been there for at least the last 6 months I've been visiting. She always greets me by name, she speaks great English, she has leadership qualities, cares for other patients, assists with cooking, and she shines as an artist every time we have a craft or drawing time together. Despite her heart breaking story, she excels. It reminds me that all of the patients are unique, they all have a name, they all have a story.

I personally desire to to visit this facility for several reasons. 1) I used to work as a Nurse Aide with the elderly, many of them suffering from Dementia/ Alzheimer's. For several years it was rewarding to serve those who had lost most things in this life... maybe their spouse, their ability to walk, drive, and/or go to the bathroom by themselves. They've lost their independence and parts of their memory. Despite the state they were in, they all had names, unique personalities, stories, and a history that far surpassed my own.

2) In Liberia, I visited a home for the handicapped in Monrovia. I saw the difference that Saturday visits made in their lives... it was time for affection and stimulation. It was a couple hours of love, care, and attention. Even though they couldn't walk or talk, they were all unique, they all had a name, they all had a story.

3) I have a special place in my heart for people suffering with handicaps and/or mental illnesses because of my own experience with anxiety and depression. I remember how awful it felt, how it was the worst pain I've ever experienced... but no one could see it or quite understand it. I remember how dis functional I was and I can't imagine the consequences of no proper therapy, treatment or medication. See, before I was 20 I had no idea what mental illness was, nor did I have any grace or understanding for people suffering from anxiety or depression until my own world was turned upside down several times in my 20's. My eyes have been opened wide because I was once also a suffering person, unique, with a name, with a story.

Jaquot Psychiatric Facility covers a range of mental illnesses; schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, dementia, trauma, psychotic behavior, obsessive disorders, etc etc. It's a government home. Overall, Jaquot would not be up to your standards of what a psychiatric facility should be.... There is a lack of staff, a lack of proper treatment, often times the patients seem over medicated. The staff seems to use outdated forms of punishment, and there is a lack of therapy and organized activity. For the most part it seems that the patients govern themselves in a walled in village. I know this because when I visit on Saturdays there is maybe one staff person there with between 100 and 200 patients, ages 20 -60 years. He or she is usually in an office, usually unseen. As I pull up to the gate sometimes I see patients on the street or operating the gate. Some are helping the cooks while others are laying on the ground, soiled in their own clothing and covered in flies.

You may ask why go to such a place?! But, the many disturbing things listed above are exactly why I go to such a place. Saturday morning is when a few of us from Mercy Ships go in and try to greet every one of them, we provide affection, stimulation, and organized activity. It could be a children's level activity, it doesn't matter. I love to see them enjoying themselves, attentive during stories, proud of the craft they've made or the picture they've drawn.

Jesus said " I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.... whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, you did it to me." Each person that is suffering, the ones who are overlooked, outcasts, and the ones who are ignored, they all have a name, they all have a story, and God loves each and every one of them.


Zebra Day!




Castro!



Mr. Giggles (I love his laugh)

Caroline

Patience


Miriam


Theresa


Cattie