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JENNIFER FINER

STAFF WRITER

PHOTOS BY

DANIEL LIPPITT

Born in Iraq,
Janette Shallal
heads Kadima,
a Jewish agency
serving the
mentally ill.

Opposite page: In three years, Janette
Shallal helped triple the size of Kadima.

forwa rd

anette Shallal is determined to rid her
agency of a stigma. And to her surprise,
success seems to be coming more quick-
ly than anyone could have anticipated.
People, she said, tend to shy away
from Kadima because they don't want
to be associated with anything that has
to do with mental illness.
"We're not going to let people run and
hide," she said. "Our job is to make sure
they are aware that mental illness is
in the community and there are re-
sources available."
Kadima, which means "moving for-
ward," provides assistance to adults with
mental illness, including living arrange-
ments, employment programs, counsel-
ing and support groups.
The Hebrew translation is a good way
to describe what Ms. Shallal has done
for the agency since she started there
just over three years ago.
"She has taken us from being a tiny
mom-and-pop organization to the fore-
front in providing services to adults with
mental disabilities," said Gail Stewart,
president of the Kadima board.
Since Ms. Shallal joined Kadima in
1993, the size of the agency has tripled.
Staff size increased from 12 to 27, and
the agency's annual budget grew from
$350,000 to $1 million. Two years ago,
Kadima moved into larger office space,
on Southfield Road near 12 Mile in
Southfield, to accommodate its expan-

sion.
While Kadima is a nonsectarian
agency, approximately 110 of the
agency's 120 clients (whom Kadima of-
ficials refer to as consumers) are Jew-
ish.
Consumers fall into one of two cate-
gories of mental illness — either bipolar
or schizophrenic. Those with bipolar dis-
orders go through episodes of mania and
depression and mood swings. Individu-
als with schizophrenia are unable to sep-
arate real and unreal experiences. Many
types of mental illness are caused by a
chemical imbalance in the brain.
"In a way, we're still in our infancy,"
Ms. Shallal said of the 12-year-old
agency. "We have grown tremendously
in the last few years, but there is still so
much work ahead of us. It seems like the
more you provide, the more that's need-
ed."
Ms. Shallal, who is Chaldean, was
born in Baghdad. She came to the Unit-
ed States in 1960, at the age of 11. Her
father, like most immigrants, wanted a
better life for his family but couldn't af-
ford to pay for everyone to emigrate. He
left his family in Iraq and joined a friend
in Detroit.
For three years, Ms. Shallal's father
rented a room in a basement and worked
at a grocery store. When he earned
enough money, he brought his oldest son'
to the United States. Together, they liVed `.

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