Stories of Success

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Did you know 1 in 17 Americans suffers from a serious mental illness? In 2008 WYGC provided treatment for hundreds of local individuals diagnosed with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

In 2007 more than $100,000 was donated to the WYGC Foundation for special furnishings for the new Windhaven Center, which features a state-of-the-art psychiatric hospital operated by WYGC. The 16-bed facility opened on September 1, 2008 and offers hope to local members of the community seeking a safe place when they experience debilitating depression, suicidal thoughts or other such psychiatric crisis during the course of their lives.

"... I was just in town and wanted to stop by and say hi. Life is so, so good. Almost 2 years sober on the 29th. I owe it all to Hillside."
~ An Adult WYGC Client

Studies show that 1 in 4 families in America has a family member who is struggling with an addiction. They also show that children who are raised in a home with drug and alcohol abuse are at a significantly higher risk for neglect and reduced financial stability. Often the parent does not have consistent employment and spends the funds on drugs and alcohol; not food and other family necessities. In 2007, WYGC treated 921 adults in its drug treatment program. Of those, an estimated 80% have children.

“…I keep on taking it one day at a time, and it seems to be what is working. Again, thank you. I am most appreciative of your assistance.”
~ A Drug Treatment Program Graduate

Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. When added to the natural aging process, these conditions, particularly depression, can seem overwhelming. The WYGC Senior Peer Program provides support and education to the area’s elderly. Using the skills of peer volunteers (55 years and older), this prevention program helps seniors maintain a healthy emotional life at no cost to the participant. Approximately 12% of WYGC’s total clients are seniors. These include people who participate in the Senior Peer Program as well as those who are receiving counseling and other professional services offered by the clinic.

“…Today was a most glorious day indeed as I went to get my mail from the Cornville Post Office, there it was, my nursing license that I worked so hard to get back. I dropped to my knees and tears of joy just poured down my face. I grabbed and hugged a perfect stranger who had walked into the post office lobby, so thank you perfect stranger for sharing this moment with me…”
~ A Woman Who Battled Her Illness & Won, From Her Own Letter To The Editor

Recent studies ranked the United States second to last in child well-being out of the world’s 21 wealthiest nations. Child neglect and maltreatment is a significant but preventable public health problem in our country today. Child abuse and neglect are greater in families where parents: are involved with drugs and alcohol; seem uninterested in the care, feeding or safety of their children; or where there are serious economic, housing or personal problems present. In most of these cases, the children need counseling and behavioral tools to learn to be productive citizens and not repeat the patterns of their childhood when they grow up. Children (17 years and younger) represent one-third of WYGC caseload; over 1,500 were seen in 2007. Of those, about half are in some kind of foster care situation.

WYGC’s “Children’s Team” works in concert with family members, community agencies, state agencies, schools and others who are invested in improving the overall functioning and well-being of children and families referred for services.

The following expresses, in his own words an at his own initiation the feelings of a 9-year-old child client while his support team (counselor, parents, etc.) were on a conference call during a Client-Family-Team (CFT) meeting:

“Thank you so much for supplying the money for me to go to camp. I had so much fun.”
~ A WYGC Child Client