News & Notes

When Jennifer Sherman was at her wit’s end, she received the help she desperately needed. Now, in her role as a parent support specialist at the Bert Nash Center, she helps other parents who are in similar situations. It wasn’t that long ago, Sherman was one of those parents who was struggling. Her daughter, who was 13 at the time, was having some major issues. The Shermans – Jennifer and her husband, Andy – knew their daughter needed help. That’s when they came to Bert Nash.

Congratulations, Erin Walker, for winning the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare’s 2018-19 Margo Award for Exceptional Performance in MSW Clinical Practicum! Erin has been a WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) intern at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School. WRAP is a Bert Nash school-based mental health program, which is a partnership with Lawrence Public Schools and Eudora Schools. Way to go, Erin! We’re proud of you!

Diane Werner has been doing case management work at the Bert Nash Center for 22 years. And no two days have been the same. Which is one of the many things she has liked about the job.“ There’s no typical day,” Werner said. “It varies from day to day. It’s never dull.” Werner’s last day at Bert Nash is June 18. She’s moving on to become a residential housing specialist for HOPE House (a housing program for people who are recovering from addiction) and working with the Lawrence

When Susan Murphy, a Bert Nash peer support specialist, talks about her client, who chose to be identified by her initials KT, she couldn’t be prouder. “The progress she has made, it makes it all worthwhile, to see the results, to see her happy,” Murphy said. As a peer support specialist, Murphy provides support and shares her personal recovery story with others, like KT, who have a mental illness and are working on their own recovery. KT has been a Bert Nash client for many

Beth Ankerholz may be a short-timer — her last day at the Bert Nash Center will be Aug. 2. But she sure can’t be accused of mailing it in. Even as Ankerholz gets closer to that final day, she continues to work just as hard as she has done for the past 30 years. She does whatever is required to meet the needs of the Center. “I don’t know how to be any other way,” said the Bert Nash IT director. “I just can’t do it. It’s not me. There’s too much to do.” Ankerholz will retire af

The Golden Years – those years after retirement when a person is supposed to be enjoying life – aren’t always so golden. In fact, they can be pretty dark. To be honest, those so-called “golden years” sometimes become the most boring time of life. There is a reason why youth is known to be a blessing. When you are young, you are perhaps more energetic, more lively, more desired, and easily conversed with. It is the time when people often think about starting a new life with a

For Justyn Hosman, March 14 will always stand out in his mind. But standing, at some point in the future, will become something he can no longer do. Hosman, a member of the Bert Nash Center’s Homeless Outreach Team, was told on March 14 that he has ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. There is no cure; the muscle degenerating disease is eventually fatal. The life expectancy for someone with ALS is two to five years. The diagnosis came after an EMG (Electromyography) at the Universit

As the parent of an autistic child, Kim Turner has had her own struggles. Which makes her really good at her job. Turner is a parent support specialist for the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, where she works with parents of children who are receiving mental health services. “It helps to be a parent and it helps to have a child who has had some special needs,” Turner said. “That really lends itself to being able to support other people. I’m able to share from my own

Patrick Kelly will be the first to admit he’s not the touchy-feely type. “In my family, we weren’t huggers,” Patrick said. “We sat around and read books and tried to outsmart each other.” But Patrick, who is director of the Lawrence College and Career Center and is a Douglas County commissioner, has come a long way in his emotional journey. A starting point for him was when his step-daughter, who was in high school at the time, was struggling. “We were at a complete loss,” sa

When Rachel and Travis Bowlin’s youngest son, Gabe, was in kindergarten, they began to hear about problems at school. “Gabe started struggling the second half of kindergarten,” Rachel said. “He was not doing well in school. Gabe is very intelligent, but he just couldn’t conform to the school atmosphere. He was really explosive. I was getting notes from school about his behavior. It was a struggle. That’s when we started looking for help.” That’s when they started coming to th

“I’ve had struggles my whole life, but I’ve always been proactive to get myself the help I needed,” he said. And when he needed help, he found it at the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. Mecca has been receiving mental health services for most of his life. When he moved to Lawrence about six years ago, he started coming to Bert Nash. “I’m not sure how I heard about Bert Nash, but I was going through some crisis in my life and I decided I need to focus on my mental hea

When Debbie Wise found out about the speech her daughter Mallory gave for a class last year, she was surprised. And proud. “I had no idea she was doing the speech until a couple of weeks after she did it. I was talking to her teacher who said she did an amazing job,” Debbie said. Students had been assigned to give a speech about a health topic. Mallory decided to talk about eating disorders. It was the first time she had talked publicly about the issue. “The final line of her