Volunteer Spotlight: Alex Sciaky

Within the vast community of NAMI Washtenaw County, Alex’s story presents a compelling tale of advocacy and transformation. Her journey, originating from the desire to support her immediate family, displays a strong dedication to mental health education and compassionate outreach. Not only is Alex’s story one of personal development, but it also serves as an example of how each of us can impact societal change.

In her early 20s, Alex came out as a lesbian and fell in love with a woman who she thought would be her partner for life. They were together for 15 years when they adopted their son as an infant in 1993. Alex was delighted to be a mom and enjoyed their family life together. Two and a half years later, Alex’s partner began seeing someone else and ended the relationship. Alex was completely devastated and struggled to continue working full time as a physical therapist and raising her son who was beginning to show signs that he had special needs. It didn’t help that her partner was the first openly lesbian Episcopal priest to be ordained in the State of Michigan. She’d had an affair with a woman in her congregation. Alex’s family life imploded for all in the church to see. It took her years to recover and start a new life.

One of the people who helped her recover the most is now her wife. Thanks to her wife’s support and her dedication to her own recovery, they have been together for 28 years. Alex first became involved in NAMI back in 2009. They’d been together for 12 years at that point and Alex was struggling to understand her wife’s depression/anxiety and the stresses in their relationship. Her son’s behavioral issues had taken a toll on the family, too. She was getting to the point where she was questioning whether she would be able to stay in the relationship. Alex searched for help and learned about NAMI Washtenaw’s FEST Program, which stood for Family Education Support and Training. It was a free, 12 week class for people who live in support of a loved one with a mental health condition, similar to the national NAMI Family-to-Family class that is available today. At the beginning of the FEST program, the facilitators asked what each person’s goals were for the class. Alex wrote down 4 goals: to learn specialized communication skills that are effective when interacting with someone who lives with a mental health condition, to learn how to deal with relationship issues since my partner has depression, to gain support from others coping with a family member with depression, and to learn more about available resources. Week after week, she attended the FEST classes and learned about many serious mental health conditions and the treatments available. She met all her goals and learned that there is hope. She gained compassion for her loved ones living with a mental health condition and gained a better understanding of how difficult life can be for them. She learned about recovery and how to support it and respect it. She learned that there are things she cannot control but she can control how she responds to situations. She learned how to take care of herself. She found a group of people who understood what it’s like to love someone with a mental health condition and not be able to talk to anyone about it because of the stigma. A whole new way of looking at her situation opened up for her.

Once the FEST Program ended, some in the group wanted to continue to meet so they could continue to support each other and share resources. Alex and the others held the “Beyond FEST” program once a month for almost a year and continued to learn more and support each other through thick and thin. As she began to practice the techniques she learned in the FEST program, her relationship with her wife and her ability to cope improved. In 2015, they were allowed to legally marry and they did. Alex was so grateful for all she had learned and received from NAMI that she wanted to give something back. That’s when she became a NAMI volunteer. Since then, she has been a support group facilitator, a hospital program volunteer, and a presenter to the community. Her many responsibilities include mentoring, teaching, and campaigning, with an emphasis on the vital interpersonal connections that combat the stigma attached to mental health.

Her experiences at NAMI WC have deepened her appreciation for a community united by a common goal: to support those affected by mental health issues and eradicate stigma. The positive changes in her own life, strengthened by NAMI’s programs, highlight the organization’s potential for transformative impact.

Alex hopes that NAMI will become more well-known and that its free resources will always be available to all. She urges for more volunteerism, especially to aid hospital visits, reinforcing the message that no one is alone in their recovery journey.

She has reinvented her life’s purpose to promote hope and communal cooperation by combining her skills in healthcare with her support for mental health. Alex expresses gratitude for everyone’s contributions and supports NAMI WC’s activities to keep moving forward.

She advises people in crisis that early intervention in mental health is key, and by joining organizations like NAMI, they can significantly contribute to individual recovery and community well-being. Alex’s story provides compelling evidence that advocacy can indeed pave the way to recovery and hope.