Founder of J&E Support Group honored for her mental health work

ASHEBORO — Maddie Andrews has been doubly recognized for her work helping people with mental disorders. 

Founder of J&E Support Group for those with symptoms of depression, anxiety or other mental health issues, Andrews has been honored by the NC Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and received the Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award presented annually to a sole graduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill.

“I won for my work with J&E Support Group, which I founded in 2024,” Andrews said. “It’s a nonprofit peer support group.”

She named the organization in honor of her parents, Jane and Eddy Landreth, both now deceased. She said both supported her and looked for ways to treat her mental health problems.

Andrew’s own mental health issues began when she was sexually abused at the age of 4 and she continued “mostly in silence and very alone,” she said. “I act as a peer (support specialist) because I live with schizoaffective bipolar type, generalized anxiety, PTSD, and OCD.”

She hit rock bottom in 2023 while undergoing medical treatments for her mental problems. Andrews suffered severe lithium toxicity that threatened to take her life.

She said the doctor was prescribing lithium but wasn’t checking her blood levels. Her lungs collapsed and she required dialysis when her kidneys ceased to function properly.

When tests showed no brain activity, her husband, Russell, was told that his wife “wouldn’t come back to normal.”

Andrews was given two transfusions to flush her system of the lithium, a heavy metal. But for two weeks she couldn’t talk in sentences and had no memory of her life-threatening experience.

When she started talking and showing signs of life, Andrews was transferred to behavioral health to learn how to talk, walk and write her name. It then became clear that “recovery was possible.”

After three weeks in the hospital when she was able to read her medical record, she determined that “I didn’t want to die. I called anyone who would listen. I found a team of doctors at UNC Health who gave me the ability to transform my life.”

When she was able to go home, her husband Russell became her caregiver for the next three months. “He was in charge of everything — cooking, my meds, doctor appointments, everything. He’s wonderful and I’m very fortunate. It was a learning curve for him and traumatic for him to see his wife in that situation.”

She gives credit to Penny Lane Farm in Pittsboro for “all kinds of therapy on the farm. The staff changed my life. I decided to be positive. That wouldn’t have happened without Penny Lane.

”I thrived and wanted to give back to the world. So I started the group and began public speaking and education.”

Andrews is currently working on her master’s in social work at UNC-CH, maintaining a 4.0 average while also conducting her support groups. There are group meetings at Keaton’s Place in Asheboro as well as a virtual group. 

She’s planning a mental health simulation in October at the Randolph County Agricultural Center. She’s looking for sponsors to have their logos placed on a special T-shirt to raise money for a suicide awareness campaign.

If that’s not enough, Andrews hosts a podcast, Voices of the Voiceless, on which she shares her story and has speakers on mental health. She recently went to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to advocate for rural mental health funding and Medicaid. Andrews also wants to help the homeless with mental health issues.

Helping others has become Andrew’s purpose in life. “I love being in a group, having people who understand. It’s easy because you don’t feel pressure. I can just be me. It’s a safe place. We tell stories of hope and grow together.”

While Andrews is helping others, she realizes her own journey is ongoing. “I’m trying to slow down, take time for myself,” she said. “It’s a lifelong journey with mental health. But that doesn’t mean I can’t achieve my dream — to help as many people as possible.

“It’s an honor to win the awards,” she said. “But I don’t do it for me but to help my community.”

Visit J&E Support Group on Facebook to find out more.