One Man’s Story:

Ross Fortner, J.D.

Ross Fortner, an older adult, has often felt cold rejection because of his mental illness. His story begins in 1958, when, after graduating with a law degree, he failed the Oregon bar exam and suffered a nervous breakdown. He was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and spent a short time in a psychiatric hospital. Afterward, he was fortunate to find a safe haven back with his family.

For several years, he worked at jobs offered by his parents and their friends in banking and insurance. But he got fired many times because he couldn’t remember things, which he attributes to the electroconvulsive treatments he received.

During these years he did not experience stigma, thanks to the efforts of his family and the people in his hometown who accepted him and tried to help. He also benefited from the dedication of his doctor, who assisted him with his anxiety illness.

But things took a turn for the worse when his father and his doctor died in the same year. “It was then that I really experienced the terrible failure that stigma causes,” Fortner said. “Stigma was very hard on me. The only work I could get was in sheltered workshops, make-work type jobs.”

He stopped seeking better work and started to volunteer for the Veterans Administration, where he was recognized for his efforts. That work led to jobs subsidized by the Private Industry Council and then postgraduate study in nonprofit management at Lewis and Clark College. “I also found my way into leadership roles in the community and acquired transferable skills to go along with my job skills,” he said.

Fortner successfully worked as a housing advocate, a liaison to parole officers, and a shift leader at a socialization center for people with mental illnesses. Fortner considered this progress in his career as a breakthrough. “I was accepted in the community despite my mental illness.”

When Fortner lost his job as a team leader in a consumer-run drop-in center because of county budget cuts, he found his next job through the Internet. He took executive recruiter training and became a successful independent businessman. He recruits franchise presidents for an international recruiting company and also has a contract to recruit investors for venture capitalists.

For Fortner, the solution to the double stigma he faced as an older adult in recovery was successful self-employment.