A Lengthly Update

It seems to be a regular occurrence that I only post about once every month or even two, so I bet you can make this schedule a regularity.

Anyways, as most of you know, I got a new job.  I'm working at a Mental Health Hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska as a Security Specialist.  No, I'm not a security guard.  My job is to provide a safe environment for our patients.  We have about 6 buildings on campus that house over 200 patients, all of which are mentally ill.  There is a reasonable percentage of sex offenders which don't have the typical mental illnesses, but yet are still mentally ill.

It's my job to work with these people.

In one of the buildings, it houses the sex offenders.  There are enough beds to house roughly 60 sex offenders.  Of those sixty, there are three different wards.  The Secure Ward (intake), the Transition Ward (Community transition), and the West Ward.  The West Ward is the ward I will be working in.  These 24 sex offenders have typically reoffended and show no sign of intrinsic rehabilitation.  Although very few of these men (there are women in this program, but they are in the Transition Ward) suffer from schizophrenia, bipolar, etc. they do suffer from severe social dysfunctions.  My job, with the help of other staff, is to provide a therapeutic environment.

Seeing as their illness is typically learned, the treatment goals are to substitute their coping mechanisms.  More importantly than that, we want to make these men feel.  They (typically) feel no remorse, guilt, or shame for what they have done.  I've heard stories of manipulation that would absolutely blow your mind.

So this is definitely a new chapter in my life.  I'm still in orientation/training, but starting next week I'll be on the ward.

On another note, a part of our training was to spend an hour or so on the other wards on campus.  I spent most of my time on the Women's General Psych Services Ward.  Here's a story from that ward:

I walked onto the ward and was instantly greeted by a lady named Sue (I changed her name for privacy).  Sue is about 45 years old.  She was dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt.  When you looked at her, you could just tell there was something missing.  After being on the ward for no longer than two seconds, she came up to me and said, "Jack, would you like to play cards with me?"  I politely refused and told her my name is actually Ryan to which she replied, "Oh come on Jack, Mrs. Kennedy over there already told me your real name."  She pointed towards an empty room.  This continued for a couple of minutes when she stopped what she was saying and said, "Jack, do you hate Jews?"

"No, I do not hate Jews."

"Oh good, because I'm a catholic nun."

"Really?  How long have you been a nun?", I replied.

"A while.  Look at all this white s*** on me.  I need to take a shower.  I'm actually black", Sue said.

She was really white.

After a while of a conversation that seemed to take a million turns, she walked away because it was time to go outside.  I'll tell you though, I will never forget Sue because she never ceased to carry a thought into the next sentence.

So with that, I'm going to head out.  If I ever have more stories (which I know I will) I'll post them.