CSA’s Momentum art show was born of a client’s talent and the CEO’s desire to do more
Community Support Advocates is celebrating 25 years of supporting individuals and families impacted by mental health or disabilities in Central Iowa. The nonprofit served 100 people during its first year in 1997 — and expects to serve more than 1,900 people this year.
A critical “first stop” organization that connects individuals and families to resources — such as employment, education, and community living — CSA’s impact has resonated throughout Polk, Jasper, Story, Dallas, and Warren counties.
To celebrate a quarter-century of service, CSA asked individuals to share their stories. Read more stories at teamcsa.org or follow #CSA25DSM on Facebook or Instagram.
Pattie Kurtz’s brother, Don, was a long-time client of CSA. Don had several psychiatric diagnoses in adulthood, and eventually qualified for disability.
Had he lived in southeast Iowa with the rest of his siblings rather than in Des Moines, he might not have had access to many of the different support agencies available in Polk County.
Without that support, his life would have been much more difficult, Pattie said. Don lost his life to cancer in 2014. Now Pattie is telling his story:
As a single person living a couple hours away from his closest family, Don was able to live on his own and function with dignity to the best of his ability because of the support and guidance of the staff of CSA and his healthcare providers.
As a family, we did what we could, but it takes professional staff such as CSA to be able to navigate the quagmire of paperwork and ever-changing programs and rules.
During one of the darkest times in his life, Don cut himself off from pretty much everyone he knew. But he kept in touch with a few people at CSA, especially CEO Christina Smith.
During one of her visits with Don, she was so inspired by his artwork he had surrounded himself with that she came up with an idea.
What if she created an art show of pieces produced by CSA clients? Soon, the dream became a reality.
Momentum, as the annual art show became known, had a transformative impact on Don and so many other. To be able to create something that can have meaning and be appreciated by others proved to be an eye-opening concept.
The program has grown to include studio space at Main Frame Studios in Des Moines. There is no way this or any of the other programs could have become a reality without the type of people willing to do the hard work necessary to help their clients achieve their best potential.
These are not the type of people who work 9 – 5, then forget about work the minute they walk out the door.
The dedication, skill, compassion, and empathy the CSA staff possess deserves to be rewarded and recognized. What other life-altering ideas and programs are still out there waiting to be discovered by the caring people at CSA? They need your support to make them happen.
While no one else is as fortunate as my family to have had Don as a brother, there is quite probably someone in everyone’s family that will need this type of help. Don’t deny them an opportunity to get that help.
Don was such a believer in the need for this type of support that he was attending Drake University part time in hopes of becoming a peer support specialist. He was only a few credits short of graduating at the time of his death.
