As 2020 ended, we began strategizing and formalizing our focuses on health and wellness and increased access to support networks and resources. We knew that, despite our efforts during the pandemic, our residents still struggled, decompensated and backslid in their efforts toward long-term stability.
As a result, we recruited three new resident counselor facilitators who work on a part-time basis, each with very specific training and experience in the areas we want to focus on relating to health and wellness.
One resident counselor has specialized training in substance abuse recovery support. Having this person as a member of our staff gives residents access to someone who can reinforce the treatment they receive at their substance abuse recovery programs.This counselor can also encourage people to go to recovery and/or assist them when they are struggling with maintaining their sobriety and can also identify when additional outside interventions may be necessary.
One resident counselor has specialized training and experience in teaching life skills to populations like the one we serve. They are able to successfully build the kinds of relationships required to successfully instruct a population that often has challenges with learning new skills such as interpersonal skills,budgeting and time management.
One resident counselor has specialized training and experience in mental health counseling support. They offer first-line support in emergencies, can help stabilize residents in crisis until additional help arrives, and they can monitor and screen residents and can even make recommendations accordingly about what types of mental health services would be advisable. These three part-time counselors are our four full-time case managers and our two part-time case managers who also continue to provide direct services to residents and meet with them at least twice a month. The addition of resident counselor facilitators, who can address the majority of challenges our residents face, is proving to be a tremendous asset to the organization.