Supported Education at Alexian Center for Mental Health

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The Alexian Center for Mental Health received a $25,000 grant from the Helen Brach Foundation to provide supported education services to the Center's Young Adults Program. This will allow the Alexian staff to provide assistance to clients with special needs in obtaining and maintaining secondary educational pursuits. Clients of the program will receive support from an education coach to assist in managing clinical issues in and out of the classroom as well as assistance in helping to maintain good academic standing. These services will include

  • Teaching necessary skills to help maintain a class load
  • Acting as a liaison between clients and their schools to help foster independence
  • Evaluating clients school performance and providing appropriate feedback
  • Counseling services to assist in problem solving, such as coping with stress in the classroom

In accordance with the Alexian Brothers' core values of holism and partnership, the Center is responding to this need in the community from a grass-roots level with optimism that we will be able to grow this aspect of the Young Adults Program and meet the needs of all individuals with supported education needs.

The Young Adults Program has completed the first year of service with some outstanding results!

Over the past year, the program has served 27 young adults. Of these clients, two have moved out of their parents' homes, seven have obtained gainful employment, four have taken college classes and two are doing volunteer work.

This group of clients collectively accounted for 105 hospitalizations throughout their young lives - yet all 27 have only had three hospitalizations in the past year.