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La Rue advocates for patient mental health

The Journal Times - 5/1/2021

May 1—RACINE — Jami La Rue's schedule is always jam-packed.

Between working full-time as the only nurse at Behavioral Health Services of Racine County — where she does in-home mental health services — and volunteering, it's hard for La Rue to find a free moment.

And even when she does, she still volunteers — even going so far as to use up vacation days at her job to extend a helping hand. It's what she did at the Hospitality Center inside St. Luke's Episcopal Church, which offers free meals and shelter to its visitors, located at 614 Main St. in Racine.

According to a Facebook post from the center, La Rue worked every Friday from May to December last year, "sometimes leading the effort solo as we provided up to 140 meals a day." Until now, La Rue has helped gather donations for the center from friends and strangers alike.

Q: Why did you start volunteering at the Hospitality Center?A: I was supposed to go to New Jersey for some crisis work to help during the pandemic ... these are my fellow nurses who are struggling ... but then I threw my back out.

I volunteered (at the Hospitality Center) before, serving hot meals with my mom and my sister, but I never fully understood what they offered. When people saw that I volunteered there, more people were like, "How can I help?"

Q: Why did you choose to volunteer not just your free time, but also your vacation days? A: Once you meet everybody there's just so addicting, and you just want to keep going. I would bring music, and dance and cook, and it was just a blast. I did it because I enjoyed it — it wasn't a chore.

Q: Are you a big cook yourself?A: I love cooking. I love feeding people. When you prepare food and you see other people enjoying it, it's just a reward.

Q: Who or what are your biggest influences in being generous?A: I don't come from a wealthy family. So we have always been the ones to get help when we needed help, but also to give back that help. My parents would always help others, and we would go and volunteer together as a family.

Q: What got you interested in nursing?A: In 2000, I ended up getting injured after having an elective surgery. It was the nurses that were up all hours in the night with me just walking, because after the surgery, I couldn't feel or move my left leg from the knee down. So I was very depressed and very determined.

It was the nurses at the hospital that kept helping me stay motivated. It's just (patients) knowing that you genuinely are there for them and care and you're listening to them and advocating for them.

Q: What was your reaction when you found out you were recognized for your work?A: You do it just to do it, you don't do it to get recognized. Maybe it's gonna be bringing more light to what the Hospitality Center has to offer, or how people can help.

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