Chrysalis - About Us

Chrysalis
Chrysalis continues to receive the majority of its funding from the Dane County Department of Human Services through a purchase of service agreement. Chrysalis also receives funding from Community Shares of Wisconsin, the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, and receives donations from nonprofit agencies for whom we provide services, and family members. Chrysalis currently has three full time and three part time staff members who collectively provide vocational support services to approximately 75 Dane County residents who have mental illnesses.

Agency History
Chrysalis, Inc. has been serving the Madison community for over 27 years. Since 1980, Chrysalis has played an integral role to connect people who have mental illnesses with the community in which they live. These work-related connections have also helped strengthen many businesses and non-profits along the way. Although many staff members have come and gone over the years, the agency still abides by the ideals, goals, and earnest intentions that were set forth in the early 1980’s.

Chrysalis started as a small project of a Volunteer Action Center, which was part of United Way. The small organization was housed in a single room at the Central YMCA. At that time, Chrysalis primarily functioned as a volunteer job placement service that focused on connecting consumers to the community through volunteer work. While still in its infancy, United Way decided to cut funding from the Action Center, which jeopardized Chrysalis’ existence. Undeterred, Linda Keys and Bud Smith, among others, knew many people and programs were dependent on the organization for support and had no choice but to keep it going; Other mental health services such as PACT and Badger Prairie still brought their clients and demanded placement for them! While Bud Smith used his time and talent to apply for nonprofit status, Linda Keys contacted the Dane County Department of Human Services and explained how much meaningful support would be lost if Chrysalis could not find funding. Ms. Keys explains that then, as now, the county realized that Chrysalis served more people for the buck than any other agency, so it was in their best interest to keep it going.

In the formative years following Chrysalis’ incorporation, the organization took its shape. Many of the founders wanted to avoid following the trend at the time, which was providing mental health support in sheltered workshops. These founders believed that real-life experiences were far more powerful and lasting than those consisting of isolated and confined interactions. Therefore, Chrysalis provided support services to people who wanted to gain paid or volunteer employment in the community. As Chrysalis’ reputation and confidence grew, a wider variety of consumers with more complex needs were connected with the agency. One young man in particular had a troubled history and the Chrysalis staffers did not think he was ready to be placed in the community. Instead, he was brought to Chrysalis and work was brought in for him so he could develop his job readiness skills in a low-stress setting. This was the beginning of what is now the productive in-house Work Center Program that provides volunteer opportunities for numerous consumers who complete bulk mailing projects for over 60 local non-profit agencies. The diverse influx of consumers was and continues to be greeted by a flexible and personalized support system that has the ability to cater to a variety of needs and skills.

Linda Keys believes that Chrysalis has and continues to accomplish what it originally set out to do: it has provided opportunities for hundreds of consumers to gain confidence and pride in themselves and their work. In addition to its main goal, staying afloat as a free-standing entity and retaining excellent employees are also seen as testaments to Chrysalis’ success. Another, more intangible benefit, has also been accomplished by Chrysalis. This is the de-stigmatization that is associated with mental illness. Through all of its community contacts and expansive work with nonprofits, more and more people in the community see Chrysalis consumers for who they truly are; kind, talented, contributive citizens and thoughtful individuals, who are more than just their mental illness.

The diverse, unique, and effective support Chrysalis provides is a modern-day extension of the original intentions that founded the agency. As Linda Keys puts it, “Chrysalis has the ability to provide tailored jobs limited only by the imagination and energy of the staff to find such jobs. It can be extraordinarily flexible and creative and serve many people in individualized ways." In the end, the small project that appeared hobbled has flourished into the strong community advocate and support for mental health that it is today.