Metro West (Minneapolis)

About our coordinator:

Marrissa Lewis is originally from a small town in Ohio, but moved to Minnesota in her teens and has lived here ever since. While working as a paralegal investigator, Marrissa experienced a disabling depression.

“Managing depression was very difficult,” Marrissa recalled. “It’s a hard thing for families to understand and accept. It was hard on me, hard on everyone.”

For over a decade Marrissa worked to regain her wellness. “There’s that fear in you that you’ll never have a life that you’re happy with. It is scary.” Marrissa discovered that one of the keys to her recovery was to, “embrace what worked for me.” She relied on the support of those around her including family members, peers, and therapists. “Recovery is not a one-size-fits-all. You have to develop your own program.”

Eventually Marrissa returned to college and earned a BA from the University of Minnesota. After college she spent a year working with Alzheimer’s patients as an AmeriCorps Vista. It was during this time that Marrissa was introduced to CSN and found an opportunity to apply her skills and experience helping others.

“It’s an exciting time over here at the West Metro Regional Resource Center. We’re connecting with other people and organizations that do good work with mental health and the response has been terrific. There are some great things going on.”