Conversations with Laurita Barber

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurita Barber.

Hi, Laurita. I’m so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My love and commitment to the NAMI organization and its programs are born from my journey and brokenness. I am the product of two alcoholic parents; let me also add my father was extremely abusive to my mother. He would beat her right in front of me and drag her across the floor by her hair. By age 2, I was pulling whole braids out of my head. I began cooking for my parents at age 5 (standing on a chair over a gas stove) because they would be too hung over to cook for themselves. While in a drunken stupor, my father pulled a gun on my mother and me when I was 5 years old. I would venture to say if I had not already developed PTSD, this is when it began. I was molested on an ongoing basis by two adult males in my family, starting around age 4 until age 7 or 8. My parents divorced when I was 7 years old, and my mother and I moved into subsidized housing, better known as the projects. I had to be seen by a gynecologist for an exam at age 8; I can still hear the screams in my head from the pain (probably issues due to molestation).

My first suicide attempt was also at age 8, when my mother abandoned me in our apartment and moved out of town, leaving my grandmother to raise me. I also lived with other relatives for short periods. At age 13, my mother died from a massive heart attack; however, she had already gone many years before that. I spent my sophomore year of high school in Xenia, Ohio, at the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Orphans Home. I dealt with suicidal ideation from middle school and onwards. My unresolved issues led to numerous divorces. In 2002, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and was approved for disability in 2011. In 2011, after what would have been my last suicide attempt, I heard about an organization called NAMI.

I took a class called Peer-to-Peer, which is a peer education program for people with mental health conditions. Peer-to-peer changed my life and gave me hope again, so much so that I wanted to teach it to help other individuals who suffered like me. I am now a National trainer for this fantastic program that began my recovery journey. Research states the younger a person is when they experience a trauma, the more likely they are to develop a mental health condition. I can tell you that is a true statement. My journey has led me to NAMI, which has allowed me the opportunity to give back. Too often, by the time a child reaches middle and high school, there are already layers of unresolved damage. I remember all too well what it was like being that broken, frightened child not understanding what was happening to me. However, I thank God for my journey because it has led me here, where I am today, to do the work I am doing with NAMI Franklin County.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth ride at all. Raising a family to include a child with special needs while not taking care of your own mental health needs leads to many challenges in the family dynamics.

Thanks for sharing that. So, tell us more about your work next.
I am the Office Manager and Accountant for NAMI Franklin County, a National Trainer for the Peer-to-Peer Educational course and the NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group. I am the Mental Health First Aid Coordinator for my affiliate. I am also a Certified Family Peer Supporter and Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist Assistant, currently studying for the Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist exam.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any essential lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The most important lesson I have learned from the COVID-19 crisis is how fleeting life can be and that there is nothing more important than relationships, such as relationships with my family and friends, the relationship with myself, and the relationship with my creator.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://namifranklincounty.org/