Who Are the Minds Behind This Sign?
The Vernis and Bowling signs that adorn and welcome all to our offices, are created by the skilled workers at Jeff Industries. For over 30 years, Jeff Industries has been helping individuals with emotional and mental disorders to live better, learn employment skills and work to become sustainable members of the community.
Jeff Industries was started by a group of parents and is the result of a grassroots efforts. It was created to fill a need for meaningful community-based programs that assisted mentally ill persons in the transition from hospital to the community. Jeff, the program’s namesake, was a young man who in the 1970’s was diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to a State Mental Hospital. The hospital ultimately was deemed a bad place and Jeff was released back into his elderly parent’s care. Jeff ultimately took his own life and left a note stating “I have no reason to wake up”. At that time there were no community-based programs in place that assisted mentally ill persons in the transition from the hospital to the community.
Today, the program has given adults like Jeff “a reason to wake up” and has blossomed into a regarded multi-faceted, vocational training and employment oriented therapeutic rehabilitation center. The adult work center offers paid training and employment opportunities.
An estimated 26% of Americans (one out of every 4 adults) suffer from a diagnosable mental illness in any given year. The purpose of Mental Health Awareness Month is to raise awareness and educate the public about: mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder; the realities of living with these conditions; and strategies for attaining mental health and wellness. It also aims to draw attention to suicide, which can be precipitated by some mental illnesses. Additionally, Mental Health Awareness Month strives to reduce the stigma (negative attitudes and misconceptions) that surrounds mental illnesses. The month came about by presidential proclamation.
Our Managing Partner, G. Jeffrey Vernis, has served as President of the Board of Directors of Jeff Industries for 21 years and was recently re-elected to a new two-year term. Jeff was introduced to the former Executive Director, Angelo Squatrito, who introduced him to his passion for serving the mentally ill in Palm Beach County. He learned of Jeff Industries’ unique programs to really improve the lives of its clients and learned of the success of their model. Angelo was always searching for ways to help provide better and more services and Jeff was pleased to offer whatever assistance he could to aid in leading the Jeff Industries’ Board of Directors to support the vision and keep the focus on services to the clients while being mindful of the fiscal realities.
Claudia Roberts, MSEd, CPRP, who is the current Executive Director, also speaks passionately about her work with Jeff Industries. She stated that during the recent Covid pandemic, that they never closed. Claudia also emphasized that individuals with mental illness are not “schizophrenics”, but people with schizophrenia. Claudia is proud of her work at Jeff Industries and would not be any place else.
To learn more about Jeff Industries or to donate please visit www.jeffindustries.org