Victor Walks to Support Suicide Prevention

September was Suicide Prevention Month and Victor Community Support Services (VCSS) Stockton got involved! The Cultural Awareness and Community Outreach Workgroup organized a team of volunteers to walk in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Walk Out of Darkness on September 29th at the State Capital, a community walk. The walk occurred throughout the country during different days in the month of September to bring awareness to the epidemic of suicide and raise donations to fund programs and research for suicide prevention in a variety of different populations.

In a recent article, NBC reported that veterans are twice as likely as civilians to commit suicide. This was based on the most recent report by the Department of Veterans Affairs. That's an alarming statistic that translates to about 20 veterans dying by suicide every single day. Victor Community Support Services has been an engaged county partner in training and suicide prevention events for years. In collaboration with other support services in our communities we do our best to support veterans in need of help. Too often however, we don't get to meet them until they've reached a point of crisis. 

Wraparound services helps families heal from trauma. In many cases those people have been in abusive situations for so long, that it has become normalized. It's a huge challenge to help them identify what's acceptable and what's not, to define their rules and boundaries. Parents need lot's of support through this process. Being a parent is a challenge on it's own, but recovering from abuse while raising children who have also suffered is extremely difficult.

As fire season rages on in California more homes are lost and in some cases, lives are lost. It's a challenging time, with continued hot weather and no rain in the forecast. But amid the devastation and skies darkened by smoke, there are bright spots of hope if you look close enough. VCSS Redding has reacted to the the Carr Fire in Shasta County with exemplary poise and true character. They have become a integral part of the community in Shasta County and when the chips were down, they did not disappoint. To put this in perspective, let's take a quick look at the situation that they were up against.

Jon Fournier has been in the mental health industry for about seven years, but prior to that he had aspirations to become an audio production engineer. He worked for several years pursuing that dream and learning the skills and thought it might become his career.  But with changing technology and the ease of self-producing, audio engineering became relegated to more of a hobby. Jon changed directions and went back to school to pursue a degree in psychology from Chico State, and then went on to the Wright Institute in Berkeley to complete their program in counseling psychology.

Where do you find inspiration? Your church, friends, family? What inspires you when you have a tough week and need encouragement? For Mike Hernandez, he has found that "You get what you give." Offering encouragement and inspiration to his friends and coworkers helps Mike to stay positive and motivated.

The first Thursday of every month, Mike sends out an encouraging text to his friends and coworkers. This is a tradition he started last year and has stuck with. Mike likes encouragement, words of affirmation are his love language. He paraphrased a quote he likes from Zig Ziglar saying, "When you encourage others, you are also encouraged in the process, because you are making a commitment and a difference in that person's life. I try to give out what I want to get."

After multiple deployments to Iraq, a Soldier was coming home for good, but after living in a war zone that's easier said than done. Every time he returned  home from deployment in the past, he felt like a piece of him was missing. This time was no different. He didn't feel like the same Soldier, the same Man he once was.  Emotionally he didn't feel the same, and physically he was different as well. 

Family reunification is a long and difficult process however, when we can achieve it for our clients it is one of the most emotional and rewarding experiences imaginable. For a parent who has lost touch with their own child, there is no greater joy than being reunited and having the opportunity to establish a meaningful family bond.

At Victor, we work hard to find solutions that keep children from staying in the foster system for longer than they need to. For the over 400,000 children in foster care nationwide, the average time spent in the system is between 12 and 20 months. That's a long time for a child to be away from their parents, so we focus on providing structure and counseling right from the start. Our goal is to build a good foundation underneath kids that may feel brushed aside.

This particular story comes from our site in Stockton, CA. where the mother had struggled with addiction, mental health problems, and other medical issues. Through Victor's Katie-A program this parent worked closely with her daughter's treatment team to establish healthy boundaries and reconnect with her daughter.

Mark Callahan knows a thing or two about working at Victor. He started there in 2001 and after 17 years, the only thing that has worn out is his office chair. Mark is still inspired and going strong.

Mark didn't start his career in mental health and didn't even have a background in it when he started at Victor. Mark was a teacher, and he has always had a strong connection with youth. Mark's best friend was working at Victor and encouraged him to apply. Even though he didn't have any mental health credentials, Victor saw something in Mark that aligned with their values.

The National Council on Accreditation, also known as COA, awards one of the most comprehensive and highly recognized accreditations at the national level. Two of the three Victor agencies have already been awarded this accreditation (Victor Treatment Centers and Rosemary Children’s Services), while Victor Community Support Services only recently underwent review to add the COA accreditation to its list of credentials. The process is very thorough and the COA reviewers visited three of our sites in San Joaquin, Shasta and Nevada counties.

Their reaction was nothing short of astonishment at the quality of Victor's services, structure and staff. Doug Scott, CEO, outlined the process in a letter to the whole Victor organization, and his assessment of their feedback was simply this: 

“They were "blown away."