Unlike vets who come home with a mental illness caused by the stress of battle, Paula Chomis says that she always suffered from depression. But the isolation of serving in foreign countries away from her family didn't help. Talking to an Army-provided counselor didn't help, either.
Finally, while serving in Korea, Chomis lost hope and attempted suicide.
After that attempt, she says, she spent “...about ten long years” in and out of VA hospitals.
Today, though, Paula is a Certified Peer Support Specialist working for the
Recovery Institute of Southwest Michigan. She has completed an Associate's Degree in General Studies, and her artwork and photography have appeared in local galleries, on the cover of a national mental health magazine and on a CD cover. She is also a published poet.
Click here to see "Nature is Vein" by Paula Chomis. Photo courtesy of the artist.
What happened to change her life?
Paula says that two things made the difference. One was a program on a Christian TV station called the
Three Angels Broadcasting Network.
“A lady came on and said, 'Are you depressed? Do you smoke?' I thought she was talking to me. It made start to think, because I did those things.”
A stranger on TV may have inspired Paula to start taking a look at her life, but it was the support of her twin sister that really helped her turn things around. When her sister moved to Battle Creek from England, where she had been living for twelve years, “I started to get better.”
“Family makes a difference and all I really wanted was her,” Paula says. “She was in the Navy and understood a military life.”
From there, as she was progressing in her recovery, Paula says that she ended up becoming a Certified Peer “...almost by accident.”
“I think God had a hand in it,” Paula says. “I went to the VA hospital wellness clinic to talk to a person about making a budget. She wanted to know my background and said I would make a great peer specialist. I said, 'What’s that?'”
While the concept of being a Peer still sounded “...kind of strange” to Paula, she decided to check it out and attend the week-long training. After failing the state certification test on her first try, she passed the second time around.
Her success in training and with the state test led Paula to her first full-time job in roughly twenty years.
Today, Paula's life revolves around her job, her art, and making plans for her future. At the Recovery Institute, she facilitates the organization's Vet-to-Vet program. She says that she has had to work hard on recruitment for the program, but that she's been happy to see how well some members of the group are doing.
In addition, Paula served on the Institute's Access and Outreach Team and facilitates the Artworks program.
Paula has high praise for the Recovery Institute's work.
“I think it [the Institute] is one of the most innovative places I have ever worked. It’s ideas vary strongly revolve around recovery, inclusion, health and many other ideas. (The job) was a life saver for me,” she says.
When it comes to her dreams, Paula says that she is working toward owning a more reliable car and possibly buying a house one day. Other possibilities include going back to school and opening her own studio and gallery so she can sell her artwork to the wider public.
She also plans to continue fighting the stigma that comes with having a mental illness.
In addition, Paula wants to find some way to honor or pay back the support her family has given her.
“I never could never repay my mother back for all the bus fare back and forth between Battle Creek and St. Clare Shores,” Paula says. “She passed away three years ago before I was certified. I hope she would be proud of me.”
“My life is fuller now. I’ve been out the hospital for sixteen years and now it’s time for me to pay it forward.”
Paula Chomis In Her Own Words (and Artwork):
If you'd like to hear Paula tell her story in her own words, click here for a
YouTube video where she talks about her life and shows off some of her artwork. You can also find a
sample of Paula's poetry here, and a link to more of her artwork here. Finally, you can read
Paula's mini-biography on her staff page at the Recovery Institute website here.
By Dawn R. Wolfe