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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUCCESS STORY: LEWIS FINCHER
Mental health consumer helps reduce stigma, promote consumer employment

MONTGOMERY – In 1988, the world seemed pretty uncertain for Lewis Fincher. That year, he became ill with one of the most common and most serious forms of mental illness – major clinical depression. After several hospitalizations, Lewis decided to learn everything he could about his disorder and accept that it was a part of his life. He says that was the first and most difficult step in his recovery. "I realized that, while depression is a part of me, it does not define who I am," Fincher said. "I don’t want to be judged by my illness. My self-worth is not determined by the fact that I have a mental illness."

Following his last hospitalization, Lewis began attending an outpatient treatment program and, later, moved independently into a supportive living arrangement. He now supervises the Cahaba Works program, a joint program between the Cahaba Center for MH/MR and Honda All-Lock of Selma. The program places consumers with jobs and, in the process, works to restore the dignity and self-esteem of the consumer. "It can be really hard for consumers to get a job because of the negative stigma, which robs them of their self-worth," Fincher said.

Aside from supervising the Cahaba Works program, Lewis is Board President of Mental Health Consumers of Alabama, serves a Board Vice-President of Cahaba Consumer Affairs, Inc., a member of the Alabama chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, a member of the DMH/MR advisory Board of Trustees, a board member of the Alabama Minority Task Force, a board member of the Alabama Disability Advocacy Program and serves on the Cahaba Consumer & Family Advisory Board’s Quality Improvement Committee.

Because of his activities, Lewis was featured in the second public service announcement produced by the DMH/MR in their "We Are Alabama, Get To Know Us!" public education campaign. The ad is currently airing on television stations across the state.

"Lewis Fincher is living proof that people with mental illness make great friends, great neighbors and great employees," said Department of Mental Health & Mental Retardation Commissioner Kathy Sawyer. "When we needed to cast our second public service announcement, we gave a great deal of thought to who would represent the consumer community well. Of course, Lewis Fincher’s name immediately came to mind."

Lewis wants to remind the general public that many widely held ideas about mental illness consumers are incorrect and discriminatory. "Just because I have a mental illness does not mean that I am dangerous, evil, or unintelligent. In fact, the opposite is true. I am a productive and contributing member of my community. I have hobbies just like anyone else. I enjoy bowling, tennis, traveling, visiting my friends and attending church. I have a favorite book (The Holy Bible), a favorite TV show ("Walker, Texas Ranger"), a personal hero (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) and too many favorite movies to name. I have a lot in common with the average citizen," Fincher said. "My dreams may differ from yours, but only because my experiences are different. I dream of a day when mental illness will be treated with the same seriousness and professionalism given to physical health conditions and people with no-fault biological brain diseases won’t be made fun of or stereotyped."

For more information about the "We Are Alabama, Get To Know Us!" public education campaign, contact the DMH/MR Office of Public Information & Community Relations at (334) 242-3417. Information about the campaign is also available on the DMH/MR website, which can be accessed at http://www.mh.state.al.us

For information about mental illness community services or for referral information for your local mental health center, contact the DMH/MR Bureau of Mental Illness Community Programs at (334) 242-3200.

For information about the Cahaba Works program or other services provided by the Cahaba Center for MH/MR, call (334) 875-6068.