“Colors change inside. Beautiful colors warm my heart; I create them deep. My colors are special. I create them within my soul. Colors change when I cry, change when I laugh. Paint your picture with the colors, with colors we choose. We paint our beauty. Bright is life.”
Art and poetry have become ways to express something Terri Lynn has learned over decades of managing her mental health: her story belongs to her.
Terri Lynn has been navigating mental health challenges since childhood. As a teenager, she began seeing a therapist, though at the time she did not fully understand what therapy was or why she was going. Her journey included periods when her mental health became difficult to manage and led to hospitalizations.
In 1982, Terri Lynn connected with Community Alliance. She had recently left a state hospital and was living with her family. She does not remember exactly how she first found our organization, but she does remember how different the experience felt.
“The help at Community Alliance felt more compassionate,” she said. “You can feel comfortable here.”
Terri Lynn was among the first 100 individuals served by Community Alliance in the early 1980s. Her father, Clifford, later served on our board, giving her family another connection to an organization that would play a major role in her life.
Building confidence, one step at a time
Terri Lynn has participated in several Community Alliance programs over the years. She was even inspired to take peer support training classes where she met Dr. Jai Sookram, a long-time Community Alliance leader.
Recovery has meant learning how to process difficult emotions rather than allowing those emotions to dictate her actions. She has learned to pause, listen and be mindful of what is happening in the present moment.
“Community Alliance has helped me build confidence in myself,” Terri Lynn shared. “I don’t feel ashamed of who I was in the past. I don’t apologize as much as I used to.”
That confidence has grown over time. She has lived in her current apartment for 15 years and has been part of her church community for nearly two decades.
Finding connection and purpose
Community Alliance has been one part of Terri Lynn’s recovery journey. Her church, creative work, mindfulness practices and volunteer service have also helped her build a more hopeful, purpose-filled life.
At her church, she has found a congregation she describes as supportive of mental health. She has even taught a mental health-focused class there. She looks for other opportunities to practice mindfulness, including meditation and relaxation classes, and she spends time reading Buddhist writings.
“The past is the past, the moment passes, and you don’t know what the future will bring,” Terri Lynn said.
She also volunteers with the Alternatives to Violence Project, serving as a facilitator for men leaving incarceration on parole. Listening to others has become one of her most important tools.
“Part of my recovery process has been gratitude — developing deeper gratitude and empathy for others,” she said. “If you don’t listen, you’re not really hearing what someone has to say.”
Her creative life gives her another outlet. She makes art and crafts, writes poetry and wraps semi-precious stones in wire to create jewelry.
Recovery is a journey
Terri Lynn does not see recovery as a final destination.
“I’m always going to be on my recovery journey,” she said.
She continues to receive maintenance electroconvulsive therapy treatments, which she says have been helpful. She has also worked with her therapist to better understand her experiences, her family and the ways she responds to difficult situations.
“I’m not as reactive as I used to be,” she said. “Not being reactionary feels good.”
For Terri Lynn, success is not about having a life without challenges. It is about having the confidence and tools to rise to those challenges.
Her story is especially meaningful this year as Community Alliance celebrates its 45th anniversary. For more than four decades, our organization has been part of the Omaha community, supporting individuals as they work toward lives of greater stability, connection and possibility.
Terri Lynn has been here for much of that journey. She has watched programs change, seen new approaches emerge and experienced the growth that comes with decades in recovery.
“There’s so much good Community Alliance has done for the community of Omaha,” she said. “I’m proud to have received services here.”
It’s okay to reach out for help
Today, Terri Lynn wants other people to know they do not have to navigate their struggles alone. She knows asking for help and extending trust can be difficult. But she can now ask for her needs to be met without feeling that she has to earn that support.
“Call somebody,” she said. “You’re important, and I can’t emphasize this enough — reach out for help. It’s okay to ask.”
Terri Lynn has spent more than 40 years learning what those first steps of asking for help can lead to. Her life today includes stable housing, a church community where she belongs, creative work that brings her joy, volunteer work that gives her purpose and the confidence to keep moving forward.
If you or someone you know is in need of mental health or substance use help, Community Alliance is here for you. Contact us at 402-341-5128 to learn more or visit us during walk-in hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
If you are in crisis, click the chat icon on the bottom right corner of this page, or call/text our crisis and warm line at 402-715-4226.
