Newsmaker
Monday, October 27, 1997
Name: Nancy Maxwell
Age: 43
Education: Univ. of Michigan
Occupation: Director, Mental Health Assoc., Hawaii County
Hobbies: Sculpting with polymer clay
For many people, the Hawaii County chapter of the Mental Health Association in Hawaii is best known for its annual list of statistics that paint a bleak picture of social problems. Maxwell has positive outlook
The list will continue, assures Nancy Maxwell, the new chapter director.
But if the numbers are bad, Maxwell's outlook is good. The beauty of her new job is that she's not tied to other agencies, so she's free to ask tough questions, Maxwell said.
"I prefer the term 'awareness raising,'" she said.
Her independence may be one of the few beauties of the job. Having moved from its long-time office near Hilo Hospital, the agency found a new home in Pahoa, only to learn that it will have to move again.
Maxwell knows it's hard to get the agency's work done in the part-time job. "I feel like this job is moving a mountain with a teaspoon," she said.
Her predecessor, Beverley Grogan, did an unbelievable job, she said.
Maxwell knows mental health programs can change people.
In Ann Arbor, Mich., she worked with a program that had a 95 percent success rate helping problem drinkers, she said.
While 5 percent of drinkers are alcoholics, physically dependent on alcohol, 20 percent are problem drinkers, she said.
"These are people who are ready to make a change in their drinking. They want help," she said.
People could participate by telephone, set their own goals such as reduced drinking or abstinence, and reach their goal with just four or five sessions, she said.
Maxwell said she moved to Hawaii as a change from her entire working life spent in Ann Arbor. She likes the multicultural environment here, comparable to Ann Arbor, which she describes as a "hodgepodge of cultures" from Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Rod Thompson, Star-Bulletin
