Jo Ann Martin
started the Riverside DBSA in the fall of 1987 and serves as
Publisher and Editor in Chief of the Riverside DBSA Newsletter.
Jo Ann graciously opens her home to everyone for DBSA meetings
and for holiday barbeques and dinners. She has been a friend and
great source of support for mental health clients throughout the
years
Jo Ann feels
that her own experience with mental illness has given her
insight and has led her to this point in her life where she can
help others. Jo Ann was first diagnosed with manic depression in
the early 1960’s (the same year JFK was killed). She had already
accomplished a great deal up to that point. She grew up in
Lansing, Michigan and at a young age, she discovered her love
for music. She began taking piano lessons at age five and
enjoyed singing for as long as she can remember. In jr. high,
she sang in a girl’s trio.
She went on to college and earned her teaching degree. She
married and had a daughter. Her first marriage, however, did not
last. Nevertheless, her love for music was constant. Jo Ann was
teaching music in a blind school when her depression was
diagnosed. She remembers being very depressed and then being
manic all summer.
At this time, she began her career as a piano player and singer
in nightclubs. She began playing at the Elks club in Iowa and
realized immediately that she did not want to stay there long.
She went to Atlanta, Georgia, got an agent and played there for
three years. When her depression got worse, she went back to her
hometown of Lansing, Michigan and stayed with her folks. She was
hospitalized for the 2nd time in her life – both were about five
week stays. She did not stay with her folks for too long though,
because she felt she should be on her own. It was 1972 and she
began performing again at the Holiday Inn.
She moved to Detroit and had some really nice singing jobs from
1973 to 1986. She enjoyed this time in her life very much. In
her pictures, she looked like a model.
She reminded
me of Marlo Thomas because of her look and hairstyles and also
her persona. Marlo Thomas was not afraid to embark on a new
television show about a single girl living on her own. Jo Ann
was independent and creating her own career. She was “That
Girl”.
It was in 1983 in Dearborn, Michigan where she started a DBSA
group. She had attended a few DBSA meetings in Chicago. She made
a five-hour drive to Chicago on Mondays, her night off, for the
meetings. The first meeting she attended included only two
patients. Shortly after, the meetings grew so large they were
held in an auditorium.
Jo Ann was motivated to start a group in Dearborn so that she
and others could share their feelings and stories.
Jo Ann found four people from the midland area to share their
stories and they put an ad in the paper, asking – “Are you
suffering from depression or are you taking lithium?, etc…” The
first meeting was held at the Henry Ford Library and twenty-five
people attended. Fifty people attended the next meeting. The
DBSA group continued to grow and Jo Ann continued to work very
hard. She was doing too much and became depressed. Her doctor
increased her medication but that didn’t work. Then her doctor
prescribed a new medication for her called “desryel”. The
combination of lithium and desryel worked and has continued to
work great for Jo Ann. Jo Ann notes that because a medication
works well for one person does not mean it will work the same
for someone else. She kept the DBSA meetings going in Dearborn
until 1986, when she moved to California.
By 1986 Jo Ann had met Saul Kent, who would become her husband.
She was playing at a club on the outskirts of Detroit when they
met. A friend told her she should meet this guy and that he knew
a lot about vitamins. Jo Ann had just finished her performance
and as she walked toward Saul her opening words were “This gout
is really bothering me.” As Jo Ann remembers, she thinks that
was a pretty funny opening line, but apparently, it worked! She
does have a good sense of humor.
Saul wanted Jo Ann to come with him to California to help him
put together a conference he was going to do at the Disneyland
Hotel. Jo Ann hated the cold weather in Michigan anyways, so she
packed up and left. Jo Ann did the brochure and made all the
preparations for the conference. Jo Ann and Saul settled down
and bought a home in Riverside, California.
Jo Ann is a
compassionate person. She shows kindness for her loved ones and
continues to care for her aging mother. Before her mother was
unable to travel, Jo Ann took her everywhere with her. She has
been a dedicated wife to Saul as he went through cancer
treatment three years ago. Jo Ann looks forward to visits from
her daughter and her husband. She has a passion for the outdoors
and enjoys eating lunch in her garden whenever possible. She is
building a small cabin so she can spend more time with nature
and she has many ideas, like planting more trees to add to the
beauty of her property. She loves the simple things in life.
When I asked her why she has dedicated so much of her time to
the DBSA group, she said, “I know, from first hand experience,
it’s miserable. But, if you can come out of it and use all of
your knowledge to help others, it’s worth it. It’s a gift. I
have met some wonderful people that I would have never met if it
weren’t for this illness”.
Jo
Ann Martin
