Nancy Jensen, peer educator at
the Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR), recently worked with
Nathan P. Swink, PhD, to publish The Girl
Who Cried “Wolf!,” the heroic story of Nancy’s journey through abuse at the
hands of the mental health system toward recovery and independent living. The
memoir includes the year she lived at the Kaufman House, the trial where she
testified against the Kaufmans, as well as her experiences with mental illness and
the road toward recovery.
You may recall the trial of Arlan
and Linda Kaufman which was televised from the Federal Court house in Wichita
in 2005 and the re-sentencing that followed. Arlan and Linda ran Kaufman House,
a mental health facility in Newton, Kansas, where residents were subject to
“nude therapy,” unchecked seclusion, and forced labor.
Kaufman House was supposed to be
a progressive answer for the mentally ill during the de-institutionalization
era of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but it became a house of horrors. When Nancy
tried to blow the whistle, she found that no one believed her. She was the
girl who cried “Wolf!”
With the help of Nancy’s
testimony, a federal jury found both Arlan and Linda Kaufman guilty. Since then
Nancy has worked to pass a law creating an adult protective unit at the state
level, received the prestigious Voice Award, and is currently a member of the
Sedgwick County Mental Health Advisory Board.
In her position at CCSR she works
with a team training Certified Peer Specialists (CPSs) employed at mental health
centers across the state and delivering the state certification exam. Nancy is
a certified facilitator of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), an
evidence-based, self-directed wellness tool to help people cope with stressors
and deal with crisis situations.
“If it wasn’t for CCSR not only
would I not be where I am in my recovery, but there would not be a book, Nancy
said. “I say that because of the people who helped me make the book what it
is.”
As Nancy has worked toward
recovery, she continues to receive support from her family, friends and co-workers.
She says that she heard about recovery and met some of the CCSR staff at the
Recovery Conference in 2006. That was a pivotal time. One of those staff, WSU
Psychology Professor Greg Meissen, PhD, and longtime friend, wrote the forward to
the book.
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| Nancy Jensen, CPS |
“…Nancy is a hero and a wise
leader who serves as a role model for others with mental illness working with
them on a daily basis,” Meissen wrote. “She is an advocate and champion for a
Kansas movement to improve the lives of persons with mental illness. This is
the best part of the story as Nancy persistently and courageously encourages
many to work toward their recovery through her own story and how she leads her
own life.”
“I see this book, hopefully
opening up people, them wanting to know more about CPS, trauma informed care, and
more about recovery”, said Nancy. “It opens the window of opportunity for more
people especially those who suffer with mental illness or their provider to
have a sense of how it worked for someone . . . me.”
After over 30 years in the
system, Nancy has taken control of her mental health including eliminating
medications and shifting away from Social Security-Disability in order to work
full-time.
“It’s another life changing time
in my life. It’s one thing to share your story face-to-face; it’s another to
have it out there. It’s humbling. It’s a testament to the hard work.”
Book Signings
The
Girl Who Cried “Wolf!” is
available in paperback from Amazon.com. A reading and book signing will be
held at Mead’s Corner, 430 East Douglass, in Wichita, Kansas, on Saturday, July 6, 2013 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. A book signed
will also be held on July 25 in Newton at Pages Books & Coffee, 605 N. Main
St.
