ent

Janette
Shallal and
Lori Lipton

Clockwise:
Janette Shallal,
Barbie Zak',
Marla Kahan, Mara Moss,
Melissa Bronstein,
Lisa Bronstein, Leigh Moss,
Lynn Portnoy and
Lori Lipton.

BY LINDA BACHRACK

PHOTOGRAPHY B Y ALEX LUMELSKY

Lynn

Portnoy

Going Like Lynn

A highlight of the Kadima Young Adult Committee

event was a travel presentation by Lynn Portnoy,

boutique owner and author of Going Like Lynn, a

series of travel guides for women. "I'm a fiendish

I is not a sexy cause," says
Janette Shallal, executive direc-
tor of Kadima, a mental health
agency that serves adults with
psychiatric disabilities.
"Folks with mental illness get a
bad rap," she says. "The public
tends only to hear about the most
devastating events surrounding emo-
tional disorders."
Shallal spoke to the newly formed
Kadima Young Adult Committee at
an introductory event hosted by Jill
Sloan in her Huntington Woods
home. Sloan co-chaired the gather-
ing with Lisa Bronstein.
Kadima offers residential, coun-
seling and supported employment
services to 150-160 mentally ill
adults. Ninety percent of its clients
are Jewish, and they are housed in
12 family homes and 10 apartments

traveler," she says, and her passion was eloquently

expressed as she shared discoveries and insider

tips from her Florence edition.

She recounted an adventure to the Church of S.

Miniato al Monte, a Romanesque sanctuary high

on a hill with spectacular views of Florence. "I

timed my visit to hear the monks sing vespers in

Gregorian chant, then walked down the stairs to

see the miniature 'cat houses,' Florence's cat sanc-

tuary." Her guides are full of these off-the-beaten-

track discoveries.

Portnoy's primers include packing tips, hotel and

restaurant suggestions, favorite sights and side

trips, and plenty of best-kept shopping secrets.

Her visits are so up-close and personal, she was

privy to "Renaissance gossip" in Florence. Other

guides include New York and Paris.

Barbie Zaltz, Marla Kaftanillara Moss

1 2 •

NI Al 2002 • STYLE AT THE JN

in Oakland County.
"Mental illness tends to isolate,"
says Shallal. "Victims need support
and need to be embraced by loved
ones. Don't be afraid of them," she
urges.
The Kadima evening took on a
special meaning when Lori Lipton
spoke to the group about her broth-
er, Scott, and her family's struggle to
come to terms with his schizophre-
nia.
"Scott is seven years older than
me," she began. "He held, fed and
nurtured me from the time I was a
baby. He's a gentle soul and I always
thought he was cool, hip and athlet-
ic.
At age 18, Scott lost his mind.
The family thought he was a teenag-
er acting like someone who was
mentally ill. They blamed his condi-