Into the Light

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined." 

Isaiah 9:2

"If anyone asks me 'Are you OK?' or 'Is there anything I can do for you?' then I won't jump." But nobody asked him and because he felt that no one cared, he jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge. He was just nineteen years old at the time, he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and he had begun to hear voices telling him he had to die. He shared his miracle story of surviving against all odds with an enthralled audience on Sunday, February 21st at the Pullman Hotel in Miami. Kevin Hines, author of "Cracked Not Broken, Surviving and Thriving after a Suicide Attempt," was the guest speaker at the First Inaugural Luncheon of the Key Clubhouse of South Florida, an organization that helps persons that suffer from mental illness. His story touched the hearts of the almost three hundred persons that were present at the event.

The Key Clubhouse opened its doors in Miami six years ago to fill a big gap in our community. Florida rated 50th in the country at the time, when it came to resources and funding for mental illness. In six years we have moved up one space in the ranking which is very sad when statistics show that one in every four adults living in our state suffers from some kind of mental illness. The majority of our homeless population suffers from a mental illness and a large portion of the persons locked up in our jails suffer from a mental illness. Lack of funding should never be an excuse. And that is the main goal of the Key Clubhouse. The Key Clubhouse's mission is to afford people whose lives have been disrupted by mental illness the opportunity to recover meaningful and productive lives through reintegration into the workplace and the community. Their goal is a high quality of life for all members, ongoing improvement, and the ultimate elimination of stigma associated with mental illness. And they don't charge a penny for their services. Any adult, living with mental illness, can join for free and membership is for life. In the past six years, they have helped over three hundred adults.

When a person is diagnosed with a serious mental illness, they go through a period of total darkness. All of a sudden, life as they knew it, is no more. Accepting that they have a mental illness is usually the biggest hurdle. Sometimes they fall into a deep depression. Other times they hear voices in their heads that are telling them to do things that otherwise they would not even consider. Most of the times, these voices command them to hurt themselves or to take their own lives because that is the best solution since they have become a burden to their loved ones. When a person that suffers from a mental illness dies because of suicide, they did not do it willingly. They truly believed that taking their life was what they needed to do. It was their only solution at the time.

The Key Clubhouse stands in our community as a beacon of hope, love, joy and healing. They bring members out of the darkness and into the light. That was the theme of our luncheon, "Into the Light." And almost three hundred persons gathered together to tell Kevin Hines and all the clubhouse members that they do care and that they stand behind them. A person living with a mental illness can have a meaningful and productive life in spite of their mental illness. Kevin Hines is living proof that this is possible. And so are all the members that were present at the event. Many of them have found jobs and are now reintegrated in our community living a quality of life that had not been possible if it had not been for the hope and the help that they found at the Key Clubhouse.

So next time you see a person on the street that looks lost or broken, take the time to ask: "Are you OK? or "Is there anything I can do for you?" You may be saving a life.

To find out more about the Key Clubhouse, to donate or to partner with them for employment, please visit:

http://www.keyclubhouse.org or call 305-374-5115.