HELPING OTHERS

Editor’s Note: Nikki Patrick is enjoying vacation. Please enjoy this personality profile by Staff Writer Andrew Nash while she is out. Patrick’s People will return soon.

When David Engledow tells people about New Beginnings, a group dedicated to helping people with mental disorders like depression, bipolar disorder and nervous breakdowns, he often must deal with people’s misconceptions about the group.
“I’d like to see the community open its eyes to mental health more than what we have,” Engledow said. “A lot see it as mental retardation, but that’s not it at all. Bipolar disorder and depression is very different from mental retardation.”
That’s why Engledow has joined the board of directors for New Beginnings, located at 3113 N. Michigan. New Beginnings meets three times a week, on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A meal is included, and all information is kept confidential.
New Beginnings is Engledow’s recent passion. The group has cooking, arts and crafts and computer lessons put together by group members for the other members of the group.
There is also a van to pick up clients from throughout Bourbon, Crawford and Cherokee counties.
“The advantage of the program is you get to meet people in the outside world. We’ve met people from Baxter Springs and Cherokee,” Engledow said. “When my wife’s car broke down in Baxter Springs, I knew someone to call about that.”
This is not the first time a mental health organization has been in the area. And that fact alone is causing New Beginnings some difficulty.
Oakleaf, who did many of the same services as New Beginnings, closed about two years ago after failing to pay state and federal taxes, Engledow said.
He also said New Beginnings has been saddled with the $18,000 debt incurred when Oakleaf closed up. That has created issues about applying for grants and even staying open.
“I’ve been thinking for a while now about getting the word out to the community about the expenses on our back bill,” Engledow said. “We didn’t have nothing to do with that, so we’ll see if the community can help us out.”
Engledow himself has lived in the Pittsburg area for 13 years and has suffered from depression for 10 years. He said he has attempted suicide four times because of his depression.
Since getting involved first with Oakleaf (he left before the group closed) and now with the New Beginnings board of directors, he said he’s learned a great deal, including how to cook and how to use a computer better.
“It’s given me a lot to do,” Engledow said. “I’ve gotten involved with groups from Wichita, officers, case managers, etc. It’s helped my wife, too. She has diabetes, and there was a seminar on diabetes that taught me a lot about it.”
New Beginnings has even sent many members to a four-day conference in Wichita that taught a lot about dealing with mental health.
Engledow said New Beginnings has a “warmline” available for anyone who needs someone to talk to. The phone is one of two Engledow carries.
Ultimately, Engledow said New Beginnings has meant a great deal to him, even through a recent hospital stay.
“They’ve stuck with me the whole time I was in the hospital,” Engledow said. “They sent me letters, messages or called just about every other day. We will do that with anyone else who’s sick.”