Patients Take The ‘Next Step’ At Queens Day Center

"You changed my life and made me happy. My sights are set on higher horizons. I’ll always remember this place."
Anna stood proud and tall last week as she spoke to an audience of about 100 mentally ill patients and glowing staff members gathered at the Queens Day Center in Jamaica, a community-based affiliate of Hillside Hospital.
The young woman was one of 20 patients — called clients — who graduated in a Next Step Day commencement ceremony that marked their progress from a serious and persistent mental illness known as schizophrenia.
Her fellow graduate, Walter, nodded his head enthusiastically at Anna’s speech. He shouted, "Way to go Anna … a beautiful speech!"
Many of the 20 graduates who were awarded certificates signaling their success in coping with the insidious disease discussed their victories.
Some were moving into their own apartments, others had paying jobs, some were working as volunteers, a few were ready for their GEDs, and one or two were striving for college acceptance.
There was an air of expectancy in the room located in a rundown building on Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica as program director Frank Nichols introduced the speakers.
Ovations swept the room as individuals with the often disabling mental illness recounted their achievements — growth steps that moved them closer to integration into society.
Edward took the microphone to nervously address the group.
"If it weren’t for this day-care program I’d be in Creedmoor where I’d be getting shock treatments. This is the best program."
Cheers from his fellow patients drowned out the rest of his speech.
Looking at the certificate he was just presented with, Bill spoke in hushed terms about his graduation from the program.
"I’ve been here four and one-half years and it was good. At first I was very sick both physically and mentally. I got a lot of help and I’m doing a lot better. What am I hoping for? I’m living with my parents now and I want to get my own home and go into the ceramics business. Thank God we have this program."
The other graduates and staff were near tears.
"It’s the stigma of mental illness that is our real enemy here," said Dr. Paul Berman, a psychiatrist and medical director. "We haven’t made much progress there."
He said most schizophrenics can be helped. "The condition is not completely hopeless; substantial improvement can be made. We’re helping a lot of folks."
The center’s staff of psychiatrists and social workers expressed the hope that programs like theirs could help dispel the stigma.
The Queens Day Center offers patients psychiatric rehabilitation in a structured environment. The program is largely funded by Medicaid and Medicare, and Nichols said there are openings for patients at the center.
Berman said that schizophrenia is a chemical problem in the brain. The disease has been defined as a mental disorder characterized by indifference, withdrawal, hallucinations and/or delusions — often with unimpaired intelligence.
Both Berman and Dr. Samuel Siris, a staff psychiatrist, said they were worried that no state plans for funding of mental health programs had been formulated.