>> ... Next Generation ...

On The Stigma
Of Mental Illness

On Balancing Family
And Professional Life

Q: There continues to be a stigma
that exists around people with
mental illness. Why do you think it's
so?
Adelman: Unlike a physical illness
or mental disability, mental illness
can be difficult to understand. It
is harder to see, often difficult to
diagnose and certainly easier to
mask than a physical illness, such as
diabetes or cancer.
And let's be candid. There's fear.
Untreated mental illness can be
scary. So often people see it for the
first time in a roommate in college,
in a son, in a nephew, somebody on
your sports team — and when you
see something happening that you
can't exactly comprehend, it can be
very scary.
Certainly, there's a greater role
for Kadima moving forward in
educating the community so that
people understand that mental
illness is common, chronic and
treatable. It affects people of all
ages, religions and socioeconomic
backgrounds. And, most importantly,
there are community resources
available where people can get the
help they need. People just need to
speak up, be aware and share their
experiences.

Q: How do you balance the

Q: How do you envision Kadima

growing its role in the community?

Adelman: We have two initiatives

in development. We've just started
a new and comprehensive volunteer
program. We're actively recruiting
folks to share their skills and special
interests with our clients and even
in these early stages of the program,
we're getting great feedback from
the community.
The second program is a
partnership with Jewish Family
Service to train our staff as mental
health first aid workers. Just as many
of us take first aid training to learn
what to do when a person is having
a heart attack — so, too, do we
need to provide those same skills
in recognizing the signs of brain
illnesses such as depression, anxiety,
bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or
addiction.

demands of your work with your
family life?
Adelman: I think it's important for
everyone — and perhaps for Jewish
communal professionals in particular
— to understand that we do good
and important work. But there has
to be a balance. I can do a better job
here for our clients if I'm also being
the husband and father that I need
to be.
Balance also means you find
time to do things you love. For me
it's music. I'm a self-taught guitar
player, learning piano, drums,
harmonica and sax. I started on
the clarinet in grade school, so you
could say I'm kind of a one-man
band.
I'm also a wannabe foodie. Love
to cook. My favorite thing in the
world to cook is chicken stock.
There's something magical —
alchemical (if that's even a word)
— when you take chicken parts,
vegetables, water, heat and time
and you get this golden elixir when
you're done.

Q: What changes have you seen in
Jewish Detroit over recent years?
Adelman: When I started my
tenure with BBYO, Detroit was
never one of the answers any teen
would give when asked where
they wanted to live after college
graduation. As we've seen, there's
been a fundamental change in that
attitude. Young people want to
come back and stay. Credit where
it's due, I think Scott Kaufman and
the Federation leadership have
helped to make a difference in the
way that the Jewish community
views the future of Detroit. That's
not the only factor, of course. I think
people finally get that Detroit is still
a city for inventors and creators, a
place where people can make a real
difference.
At the time when Karen and I
moved back, living in the city was
not a realistic option. But if we
were just starting out in our 20s
today, we'd move into the city in a
heartbeat.

❑

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Today he decided to find out if turning
the water on in both the tub and the
sink affects how the
toilet flushes. This
was his seventh
(count 'em!) exper-
iment with water in
the last four days,
and the bathroom
is soaked.

By the end of the day, she's asked so
many questions, and it's so important
to her that we find
the answers (we

walked back to the
library twice today),

that I just want to
collapse. But she's
still not ready for
bed!

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sa 91ffe) ay, March 28, l'Obm

Bloomfield Hills Campus
41190 Woodward Avenue

248.203.7317
www.roeper.org

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For a long time she
was into puffing on
plays — each one
different — starring
our cocker spaniel.
—
„la She was writer,
director, stage
manager and
costume designer. Last week she
became interested in the animals of
the rainforest. She is a neat kid!

0

He told me today, as
he was picking up
litter on our walk, "I
take care of Mother
Earth by picking up
garbage that lazy
people drop but
just don't notice." He
says he feels great about Mother Earth,
"'cause she makes us alive!" He now has
all of us picking up litter!

March 19 • 2015

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