This program delivers comprehensive behavioral health services to 68 individuals who have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness and who have failed traditional treatment, interventions, and case management services. Utilizing a mobile, trans-disciplinary team consisting of a team leader, two mental health case managers, three therapists, one psychiatrist, two nurses, an office coordinator, and one peer support worker, our ACT program shares client caseloads and delivers services in the community, wherever a client needs them.
Our ACT team delivers services with compassion and care. Our person-centered approach reduces hospitalization and incarceration, increases housing stability, and improves quality of life for people with the most severe symptoms of mental illness.
Meet Hope-Finding Peace
Hope was a vibrant, feisty, and outspoken 73-year-old woman. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered from severe symptoms that were often intrusive and disruptive, but that didn’t stop her from doing what she wanted and being who she wanted to be. Despite her behavior, she was still a woman who loved art, shopping at Walmart, and riding her tricycle. Having no support system, Hope rescued a cat she named Cokie. Cokie had the same feisty, vibrant spirit as she did.
Because Hope was having trouble living on her own, the HopeWorks ACT Team would often visit her and help with daily chores like cooking and cleaning. This went on for three years.
In September 2017, Hope stopped taking all her medication, and she was having trouble coping. The authorities needed to be called, and as you can imagine, she was terrified. Confused, she barricaded her front door and came out swinging a broom. Hope was hospitalized for a month, and during this time, she lost her apartment. Unfortunately, not long after she was discharged, she was admitted back to the hospital and lost her apartment again. She also lost her only support system, Cokie.
Hope was placed in a semi-assisted living facility and was doing well in general. However, in August 2018, Hope had an incident and had to be hospitalized. The staff at the hospital gave her a battery operated cat, which comforted her.
As her health rapidly declined, her guardian decided to put her in hospice care. She passed away thereafter. While she was still alive, she was incredibly grateful for the help she received from HopeWorks during the most difficult of times. Her spirit never died, and it will live on in the stories of her bravado. The day before she passed away, Hope still showed her shining personality by swinging around her battery-operated cat!