In pursuit of its mission, BHR serves infants, children, families, adults and seniors through targeted programs in Thurston, Mason and Grays Harbor counties. Approximately 75% of those receiving service reside in Thurston County. Fifty-six percent of the recipients are female and 22% are 18 years of age or younger. Some of our clients are homeless. Individuals with chronic mental health or substance dependency issues are referred to BHR through DSHS, South Sound Mental Health Services, correctional programs, Western and Eastern State Hospitals and other state welfare programs. Specialized treatment services, including therapy, medications and case management, are available to Southeast Asian, Latino and Pacific Islanders with the resources of bilingual staff and interpreters. All clients are low- or poverty-level income.

Real People...Real Stories

When you contribute to Behavioral Health Resources or The Crisis Clinic, you have no way of knowing who would benefit from your generosity. Thanks to your support, many people are living successfully in our community while coping with chronic mental illness. We are supporting others in recovery from addiction and substance abuse. With the situations altered slightly to protect client identity, here are just a few examples:

A woman in her late 50s, living alone with some help from her daughter, has been a client of BHR for about 5 years. She is diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic and is very lonely. She has other health issues and receives medical care at Sea-Mar Clinic and counseling at BHR. Her counselor regularly takes her to the Food Bank and has intervened on her behalf regarding housing issues. She is managing her mental illness, which was not the case before coming to BHR. Her counselor at BHR has helped her achieve stability in her housing and medical condition that she has not had before. Her life and health would be at risk without this help.
The best treatments for serious mental illnesses are highly effective. Between 70-90% of individuals have significant reduction of symptoms with combination pharmacological and psychosocial treatment and support. The woman is functioning in her life at her best level with help from BHR.

A young man in his 30s has been drinking heavily his whole life, compounding his depression and Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome. At the height of his disease, he joined the Aryan Nation and now has nightmares about his involvement there and so has also been suicidal. His mother is supportive and with his counselor's help, he has been sober for almost 3 months, the longest period of sobriety in his life. He has very fragile health, a heart condition and liver disease. He is on disability and lives in subsidized housing. He has learned to trust and take steps to make his life better through working with his counselor. This young man is among many chemically dependent people helped by BHR to stabilize their lives and manage their mental illness.

A young single mom has a chronic mental disorder, now controlled by medication. She has two young children and suffered chronic abuse as a child and formerly lived in an abusive relationship. With the help of skills she learned at BHR, she was able to leave the relationship, move to another area and become employed. BHR counselors helped her with legal problems as well as counseling and housing. She had legal problems relating to domestic violence and she was able to deal with that and resolve the situation in her best interest. She was able to make the choice so difficult for abused women, to take care of herself and feel that she was worth it. Without help, she probably would not have left the abusive relationship, and the consequences to her and her children could have been even more devastating. After a period of support by BHR services, she is currently on her own in the community and doing well.
With counseling, legal help, mentoring with employment and help with medication, this woman has entered into the world with skills she would not have had if BHR had not been there for her.

The Pathfinders program helps find employment for the clients at BHR. One Pathfinders counselor assisted a young woman client who had never been employed before, but wanted to work. She was a young mother in her 20s with two small children. She was unable to interact in public because of panic disorders and other mental health issues. She received help from the Pathfinder's Tools for Success Group that helped her decide what she wanted to do and then create reasonable goals so that she could succeed. Her counselor contacted a local employer and she was hired. She has been supported all the way by her Pathfinder counselor and has received good evaluations at her job. In fact, the lead worker has said, "she is part of their family" at her job. Prior to enrolling for services at BHR, she was unable to interact with people and now she has moved from the back stock room to working with customers in the front of the store.
Pathfinders is a program of BHR, which targets adults who have a major chronic psychiatric disorder, such as schizophrenia, Bi-polar disorder or major depression. Pathfinders supported 74 clients during the biennium of July 2001-June 2003. This young mother's life has been enriched by her experience at BHR.