Something that could have kept Veral Adair Jr. down for the rest of his life has actually empowered him to work for others who share similar problems.

The Farrell man was diagnosed years ago with a form of schizophrenia. In high school he began hearing voices and then suffered through a lot of depression, for which he was treated for 15 years. Adair said he was working in Wisconsin and eventually ended up back in the Shenango Valley and in the hospital.

As Adair learned to understand and cope with his illness, he became interested in helping to empower others with mental health problems.