May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NRHA) wants to remind residents of the many services available through three of its partners, Breakthrough Glow Services, Crestar Health and Renaissance Counseling Services.
Community Relations Manager Corey Brooks said mental health and the overall wellness of residents has been a huge focus of NRHA since the Covid-19 pandemic. The Authority has always offered bridges for connection between residents and counseling services, but the ramp up is necessary and essential in current times, he said.
“We still have communities that are reeling from mental health and substance abuse issues,” Brooks said. “(Our mental health partners) are able to provide those services, à la carte, to individuals and family subsets.”
Breakthrough Glow Counseling Services is located in Diggs Town next to the Recreation Center at 1401B Melon St. Alycia Archer, Breakthrough Glow Counseling’s owner and licensed professional counselor, said her office offers one-on-one or group counseling to individuals, couples, families and children to enhance emotional well-being, promote psychological resilience and provide outpatient counseling and crisis support.
The organization also hosts a “Breakthrough to Hope” wellness event in many of the communities. They provide free resources to residents, such as clothing and hygiene kits, information and assistance for housing solutions, access to counseling and mental health support, substance recovery services, vaccinations, medical screenings and dental care.
“They’re a grassroots organization so they already have a rapport with residents that reside in the city of Norfolk, and, as you delve and go deeper, they have relationship with NRHA, especially in our family communities,” Brooks said.
Those resources and services are provided by the City of Norfolk Community Services Board, Virginia Department of Health and the LGBT Life Center, among others.
“Basically, we’re coordinating all of the resources we identify that the community needs,” Archer said. “Truly, it’s just to connect everyone to eliminate the barrier of not having transportation but still being able to have access to the different resources available.”
Similarly, Crestar Health and Renaissance Counseling Services are two of NRHA’s go-to providers for on-premise mental health counseling when acute services are timely and necessary. When unexpected violent or traumatic incidents happen within NRHA neighborhoods, client services personnel can deploy either Renaissance Counseling or Crestar to be onsite, in a safe area, within the next day or a few hours.
“There’s always a lot of positive feedback for bringing the services to them,” said Lasonya Green, the Renaissance Counseling Services program director. “They feel safe. It’s also a time where we can explain the programs to residents. Trauma is hard for them to process, and we offer continuity programs where they can further their counseling.”
Renaissance Counseling Services’ two main programs are its intensive, in-home services for residents ages 4-21 and mental health skill-building for residents 18 and-older, in addition to offering substance abuse and group counseling sessions.
Green said her organization will also offer a summer enrichment program in June for NRHA residents who participate in intensive in-home services. The summer program, for children ages 6-12, will introduce how Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities, meditation, art and yoga can be used to promote mental and physical wellness and combat the basic stressors of life.
Crestar Health also provides intensive in-home services for families with children ages 4-19, and mental health skill building for adults that’s designed to strengthen social and healthy skills. Also provided are mobile and clinical crisis services and telehealth therapy and counselling programs.
Overall, NRHA will continue to prioritize ensuring residents have healthy coping mechanisms.
“The fact that (our partners) are able to come into our communities and set up,” Brooks said,” makes it a lot more feasible for our residents to be able to access those services and resources that they provide.”
Residents can stay updated with the Breakthrough to Hope wellness program, Renaissance Counseling Services Summer Enrichment program and other events open to all NRHA residents here.
For more information about this story, contact dcuenca@nrha.us.