Finding acceptance M


In this castle, everyone


is treated royally Text by Cindy Kranz


Photos by E.L. Hubbard


ark Paradise is sweet on Barbara, but they haven’t gone out on a date yet. Betty Lewis sometimes pep- pers her conversations with rock song lyrics. Tim


Wills, 71, misses his mom. They’re not so different from anyone else, yet they share a bond that makes some people retreat. They are mentally ill.


It’s not unusual for the mentally ill to be misunderstood or shunned, but for the pastor and congregation of Christ the King Lutheran, Mark, Betty, Tim and others like them are a blessing. More than a year ago, parishioners extended their hands and hearts to The Castle, a nonprofit day center for mentally ill adults near Christ the King in Centerville, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio. Every weekday, 30 to 40 adults gather at The Castle to share a meal, do chores, exercise, make crafts, learn com- puter skills and just hang out with people like themselves— and with staff and volunteers who accept them. “[They] have feelings, big hearts and want to be loved,” said Dona Johnson, Christ the King’s pastor, who explained that some have schizophrenia, bipolar disorders or both. “They want to feel the care from one human being to another. They are heavily medicated. Sometimes the medication or the effects of the medication are sometimes even worse than the disease. And so they do need a place where they can interact and be cared for with compassion and God’s mercy.”


Paradise, 42, has been coming to The Castle for 14 years. “This is a safe haven for people with mental disor- ders,” he said. “I can talk about paranoia or medications without being shunned.” The adults at The Castle, who call themselves “mem- bers,” refer to it as their social club. They range in age from 18 to their 70s. Most live in group homes in the Dayton area.


Kranz is a freelance writer in Cincinnati. 18 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org First time fun


“Most of the group homes are, as far as I can glean from what the members tell me, sad and dreary,” said Debbie Lewis, support specialist at The Castle. “Some are lucky to go home to a TV. So when they come here, we want it to be like home. We want them to learn, just as you would with your children, social skills, coping skills and how to have fun.”


“Some have never had fun,” she added, recalling the day last summer when Johnson stopped in and joined Fun in the Sun Day activities. A water hose,


trip. “That’s their only vacation from their life here,”


Laura Rice (seated) visits with Lynn Spatz, a member of Christ the King.


sprinklers, water balloons and squirt guns were involved. The Castle also sponsors an annual three-day camping


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