![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/www.faceitfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/feature1.jpg\")
When a family member was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Jim and Teri Phillips found themselves searching for answers. Face It cofounder Mark Meier had exactly what they were looking for — caring, compassion, and most of all, time.<\/p>\nWhen a family member was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Jim and Teri Phillips found themselves searching for answers. Face It cofounder Mark Meier had exactly what they were looking for — caring, compassion, and most of all, time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called him an explained our situation, and I swear, the next day he met with Jim and me and we spent three hours together,\u201d Teri says.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe dropped everything to meet with us,\u201d Jim continues. \u201cThis was in the early days of our exposure to bipolar disorder and dealing with mental health issues, and he was almost like a lighthouse for us. He was knowledgeable, he was credible, and he had a heart. He gave us as much time as we needed. It was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Meier wasn\u2019t through helping the Phillips family.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn Thanksgiving Day that same year, we were in crisis again,\u201d Teri recalls. \u201cMark was on a trip, but he helped us out for an hour or so on the phone, giving us ideas on how to handle it and talking us off the ledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jim and Teri wanted to repay Meier\u2019s kindness. They helped organize fundraisers for Face It. Jim, a corporate financial executive, connected the group with potential donors in the business community. Finally, Jim joined the Face It Foundation board of directors as a way of maximizing his support for the organization\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe in what they\u2019re doing, and we put our time and our treasure behind them,\u201d Jim says. \u201cIt\u2019s the peer-group connection. It\u2019s guys who have suffered with depression and have been able to turn it around and manage it instead of it managing them. Now they\u2019re in a position to help other guys through that same transition. It can be done — these guys have done it, and they reach out a helping hand to bring other guys through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teri, a stay-at-home mom who homeschooled their kids before \u201cretiring\u201d to a life of volunteer work, says the personal touch provided by Meier and fellow cofounder Bill Dehkes makes all the difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can text Bill or Mark at any time of the day to tell them I\u2019ve got someone who wants to meet with them, somebody who needs help, and they\u2019ll always follow through,\u201d Teri says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not a call center, it\u2019s not a help line. You get to talk to a person, and it\u2019s not just a clinician. It\u2019s somebody who\u2019s been there and really understands depression and what it means to go through it. So how can you not get behind two guys and an organization like that? They really care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jim says the focus on men\u2019s issues makes Face It unique, and uniquely important.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen always talk about their problems and are able to process them together, and there\u2019s a real value to that, but guys don\u2019t do that,\u201d Jim says. \u201cGuys don\u2019t talk. We don\u2019t share. We were raised on \u2018macho talk\u2019 \u2013- being a man, you\u2019ve got to keep it to yourself. Mark and Bill have pushed through that. There\u2019s a huge need, and they seem to have cracked the code with the peer group counseling, and having a center and the access is an important step.\u201d<\/p>\n