Greetings from the Housing Embedded Behavioral Health Services (HEBHS) Team!
Who are we? We are a group of dedicated multidisciplinary colleagues working together under the Penny Lane Centers HEBHS grant to provide support to clients enrolled in permanent supportive housing and transitional housing programs The multi-disciplinary case management team consists of the project supervisor, case managers/employment specialists, recovery specialists and therapist. The therapist performs a comprehensive assessment of each client to identify specific biopsychosocial needs and develop appropriate support services, harm reduction, treatment, and/or recovery plans to address the unique needs of that client.
This grant has assisted clients with obtaining direct services, referrals, and linkages in efforts to reduce barriers to treatment that can stem from lengthy forms, assessments, or undue bureaucracy. The Witherbee Hall (the W) clients have benefited from weekly group meetings where they get to engage in interactive activities that nurture a sense of community, acceptance and belonging.
On Dec. 6th, 2023, a volunteer opportunity was organized with the West Valley Animal Shelter to allow our Witherbee clients to partake in a donation opportunity. Our Witherbee clients were glad to invest their time and effort into making “do it yourself” dog toys and dog treats. Helping someone or in this case some pup else had a profound impact on the clients.
Some of the comments we heard:
“It was cool to see they received our donations and I got to be a part of it. I learned that the shelter gives the dogs a chance to be trained and be adopted.” -A.T.
“It made me feel better about myself. It made me feel productive.” -A. K.
“It was fun to participate. I understood that dogs demonstrated behavior problems and that is a result of how owners trained them. I felt grateful to contribute to a dog’s happiness with the time and effort it took to do the donations. My hope is that the animals can get adopted one day to a loving home." -B.H.
“It felt nice to participate in doing the donations for the animals. It helped me tode-stress.” -J.H.
We are thankful to have gotten the opportunity to arrange this activity with our Witherbee clients. Many more activities and volunteer opportunities are yet to come for our Witherbee clients, and it is all thanks to the HEBHS grant.
-Sheila Cano, Penny Lane Centers
Check out some more photos below!
