Mental Health Overview

Posted by Gary O'Rielly 
on Sep 16, 2013
 
As a prelude to Mental Health Awareness week in October, last week's program featured Vicki Hoffman, Director of Employment Services for Bridgeways - a non-profit agency serving Snohomish County residents who have mental health challenges. Vicki is a seasoned professional where she works to help people living with mental illness, find, secure and keep a job. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in nursing and has volunteered with the local Red Cross during both local and national disasters.
 

Bridgeways is a licensed community mental health agency dealing with community mental health services. Mental Health Awareness week is October 6-12th. During the week, mental health advocates and organizations across the country join together to sponsor a variety of events to promote community outreach and public education concerning mental illness such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older--about one in four adults--suffer from diagnosable mental illness in any given year.

The exact cause of mental health issues is still unknown. Mental health experts do know that many of these conditions are caused by a combination of genetic, biological and environmental stressors often triggered by psychological trauma. Serious mental illness issues range from those mentioned above and include obsessive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. Most individuals diagnosed with mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plans. Common treatment and services may include medications, case management, supported employment hospitalization and supported housing.

Brideways services has been in business for over 30 years. Three of the services are supported housing, supported employment and mental health court liaison services. Bridgeways won a service contract with Snohomish County for mental health court liaison services which was a first for the county. The goal is to keep people out of jail and prison. The biggest part of the program is working with the employers. Most people want to work and employment is healthy and a way out of proverty. Bridgeways works to find and keep the right job for clients even with disability and barriers to overcome. Last year, Bridgeways helped 121 people by putting them in the local workforce. Nationally, there is a 90% unemployment rate for people who receive outpatient mental health services and Washington ranks 49th out of 50 states. Hoffman said, we need to do a better job. Personalized services is the goal of Bridgeways who is a certified rehabilitation provider for DVR.