Bev Moeggenberg knows the difficulties mental illness can have on a family. It's why she "Gives Back."
Bev Moeggenberg has been a supporter of Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services (GCBHS) for many years. She knows firsthand how our services can impact someone's life because her son was diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder in 2013. Schizoaffective disorder is a severe mental illness that causes confusion in the brain and is usually characterized by delusions and hallucinations.
People diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder can believe in things that are not true and see and hear things that do not exist. Mania and depression are also common symptoms of the condition. When untreated, people with the disease often get into trouble; which is what happened to Bev's son. The Court placed him in our Transitions to Independence Process Program (TIP) which serves youth between the ages of 16 and 24. Within six months he did a complete turn-around with the support of his family, the courts, and the program staff.
Says Bev, "They (GCBHS) did so much Annual for us as a family that I wanted to reach out and do something for them. We have always donated but I wanted to get more involved. And I LOVE to cook so..." What began as a kind gesture to the residents of Madison House, a GCBHS mental health group home, has now become somewhat of a tradition. "I started at Madison House in 2018. We did 2019, and then COVID-19 happened. Before that I was actually coming in and doing crafts as well as cooking for the residents. In 2020 I had to drop off a big meal for them at the holidays."
Fast forward to 2022 where Bev delivered meals to all seven of our mental health and recovery houses in the spring and she recently ended the year by bringing holidays meals, bags of treats and gifts to the 42 residents who reside at those houses. According to Bev what she would love to have happen is, "Getting more people involved and doing these monthly. It's such a joy to know you are making a difference. Making a meal is just a nice, easy way to bring some joy to someone. I would like to see more people be able to do that."
