‘KNOWING PLAN WILL BE THERE IS A TREMENDOUS RELIEF’

Until they became aware of Planned Lifetime Assistance Network (PLAN of California), Donna C. and Anne suffered the despair and frustration that only those who have coped with severely mentally ill members can really know. PLAN has given them the sustenance of hope, for now and for the future. These are their stories:

“My brother ‘David’ lives in Los Angeles,” says Donna, “I live in Atlanta. My parents named me as trustee of his Special Needs Trust, but I didn’t have the time nor do I live in the geography to do what was necessary for David. David became a chronic client of an inadequate mental health system. I was always having to fly out, neglecting my own family, to solve his constant crisis. David resented my help. He felt I was intruding. I finally enjoined his trust to the Master Trust PLAN of California has with its institutional trustee. Their trustee now manages the money; It’s getting a better return than I ever could. More importantly, while I found it impossible to manage the predictable crisis situation when a sudden turn for the worse required hospital care, the PLAN Personal Support Specialist (PSS) was on the scene quickly, checking on David’s health, and helping him gain control. The PLAN PSS visits David weekly. David has learned the skills to monitor his own medication. Moreover, his PSS is his best friend. He takes David to lunch, museums, and the opera, things I never could do. But, now, I can be David’s sister rather than always trying to rescue him. Our relationship has improved greatly; he’ll be visiting for Christmas. His PSS will make the arrangements. I only wish my parents had known about PLAN before they died. It would have saved both David and me from so much heartache and grief.”

‘Anne C.’, of Davis, Calif., has experienced the same hope for a quality future for her son. “Our family emergency had gone on for 40 years. Our son, ‘Brian’, has schizophrenia. Once a bright, handsome athlete, he slowly deteriorated with relapses serious enough to require hospitalization about every three years, whether or not he was taking his meds. He never recovered fully. He has no siblings and no longer does he have friends. He had no one except for my husband and me. Entering our 80's, we were so afraid as to what would happen to him once we were gone.”

“We joined PLAN’s Special Needs Trust and set up to use one of their Personal Support Specialists in the here-and-now. We felt it would be better if Brian learned to adjust to a new person while we were still alive.”

“Our son, who lived alone in an apartment across the town from us, has re-joined society. PLAN’s PSS visits him at his apartment once a week, talks with him on the phone in between and can be paged in emergency. Brian looks forward to seeing him, feels less totally dependent on us and seems to resent us less. He and the PLAN contact are beginning to plot his return to part-time supported employment.”

“Imagine a knowledgeable case worker who understands your disabled relative’s personality and character, remembers his background and supports him with extraordinary warmth, insight, patience and creativity. Imagine that same case worker who respects your judgment, returns your calls and handles your requests promptly. He is Brian’s Personal Support Specialist. We know now that Brian will be loved and cared for when we no longer can.”

Such is the impact of an organization dedicated to easing the burden of care for the mentally ill.