Verndale Nonprofits and Charities

I started with WITW on the Warmline as a way to create out of the home contacts and use the experiences I have had in my life to help others. I was in the first training for the Warmline and my life has been nothing but growth and encouragement every since. What started as a stipend voulunteer type position is now a true job that gives me joy. Not only did I work the line but I use the line. I am the mother of 2 special needs children and the wife of a husband in decline as well as someone Dxed with Cyclothymia and ADHD. I have experienced Trauma, domestic violence and Homelessness in my life. Leaving me to questioning my own worth and abilities. WITW and the people I work with have truly helped me in ways no one person or group has ever been able to in the past. With the Peer support I receive I have come to a point where my anxiety and panic attacks over things are now limited. My self view has gone from seeing myself as unworthy to seeing myself as the peer I am. I am able to reach out and help with intent. I am able to use my life experiences to help so many other people who may find themselves in the floor cracks of our mental health/dependency recovery frame work. We are many. WITW has made it possible for people who fall between these wholes to be encouraged, heard, walked beside, given a voice that leads to many being able to pull themselves up out of the cracks and start building a new life. A life that recognizes the individuals lived experiences as the building blocks to their new life without the shame, guilt, judgement, and constant you must do's from an outside source that has never walked in their world. <br> I have also been blessed to watch as others have been able to build better healthier lives in the years I have been with WITW. In my mind and heart I truly believe that Peer Support Specialists are a vital part of wellness in our communities and in Minnesota- Wellness in the Woods is a driving force to bring this much needed service to so many especially in our frontier regions were Mental health and recovery supports are so few and so difficult to receive.