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Causes: Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations, Community Mental Health Centers, Homeless & Housing, Housing Support, Human Services, Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention
Mission: Compassion, connection, community - strengthening communities through the delivery of holistic, integrated behavioral health services that promote hope, recovery, and improved quality of life.
Programs: Auburn: valley cities counseling and consultation (valley cities), a not-for-profit community behavior health center, has been the local source for quality behavior health counseling and chemical dependency since 1965. It has been a united way agency since 1967 and has been accredited by the joint commission on the accreditation of healthcare organizations (jcaho). Valley cities provides licensed mental health and chemical dependency treatment for youth and adults; supported employment and education services; domestic violence services for victims and perpetrators; outreach services and housing programs for the homeless; family support programs offering youth and family activities; and specialized veterans services that deliver counseling and family support services to veterans and their families. The development department carries out fundraising, marketing, public relations, grant writing, and public policy advocacy. The human resources department oversees personnel, staff training, student intern, and volunteer functions, and the administration and finance departments oversee information management systems, support staff, accounting and payroll operations. Valley cities continues to integrate trained and certified peer support specialists into all programs, allowing their own recovery, and motivating others to find hope and growth in their recovery process. Valley cities clinics offer a unique model of care, care coordination. All clients are assigned to a care coordinator who then assists them in connecting to resources in the agency and in the community. Clinicians are trained in evidenced based treatment modalities including cbt+ (trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children) and love and logic parenting skills. Through care coordination, valley cities still treats children, adults and older adults, but as a team approach so each individual gets the focus that they need.
housing support services valley cities operates both permanent and transitional supported housing programs that provide rental assistance with home-based case management services for homeless individuals and homeless families. Supportive services in these programs address events and circumstances that underlie or contribute to the inability to obtain and maintain affordable, stable housing. This includes valley cities landing, valley cities place and phoenix rising permanent supportive housing projects dedicated to serving individuals with mental illness and history of homelessness. Twelve units at valley cities landing are dedicated for homeless "veterans". Residents engage in on-site and community-based services that help them live with stability, autonomy and dignity. Standard supportive housing standard supportive housing provides housing and outpatient care for clients who may require regular staff contact and the availability of staff 24-hours-a -day, seven-days-a-week, but who do not need the physical safety and structure of a residential facility. The program offers the benefits included in all outpatient treatment services, in addition to support services that assist program participants to develop a daily structure and meaningful activities in their lives, make connections to community social, employment, educational, leisure and spiritual activities and support, acquire the skills and means to meet basic nutritional needs and means to move to a less intensive service level within two years. Valley cities serves an average of 32 individuals a year who are served by the king county behavioral health organization (bho) and meet the access to care standards. Priority is given to clients from western state hospital or from another local psychiatric hospital. Second priority are clients who need an extended period of time for stabilization, are a frequent or high utilizer of psychiatric hospitals or jails, are at risk of hospitalization, or who are chronically homeless. Coming-up youth program the coming-up youth program (cup) is a supportive housing program subsidized in large part through king county housing authority (kcha), king county, and united way. Cup provides housing and agency support services to up to 22 homeless young adults in south king county ages 18-24. The program switched service providers from auburn youth resources (now known as nexus youth) to valley cities in november 2016. The cup team consists of one case manager, one peer support specialist, one housing specialist, a housing manager, a program manager, and finance support staff, plus access to a mental health therapist and an outreach manager. There are many levels of service provided to clients by the agency. There are an estimated 1,200 homeless young adults in south king county at any given time and few housing programs specifically designated for those homeless young adults. The goal of the cup program is to provide program participants with a wraparound approach to services and support that will enable them to achieve self-sufficiency. The program enables them to gain life skills necessary to gain education and employment, maintain their health, finances, and homes, and maintain housing stability. Resource rooms the community resource rooms at all locations are open to the community- at-large and provide individual support, skill-building and a variety of free resources to assist those who might not have a network of support. Valley cities promotes recovery by involving consumers in their own process of finding the support and resources they need. Valley cities provides computers, fax and phones, employment and housing information, family/youth and health services, and community and transportation services. All resource rooms are run by peers and community volunteers. Hours vary by location and are based on volunteer availability.
kent: valley cities counseling and consultation (valley cities), a not-for-profit community behavior health center, has been the local source for quality behavior health counseling and chemical dependency since 1965. It has been a united way agency since 1967 and has been accredited by the joint commission on the accreditation of healthcare organizations (jcaho). Valley cities provides licensed mental health and chemical dependency treatment for youth and adults; supported employment and education services; domestic violence services for victims and perpetrators; outreach services and housing programs for the homeless; family support programs offering youth and family activities; and specialized veterans services that deliver counseling and family support services to veterans and their families. The development department carries out fundraising, marketing, public relations, grant writing, and public policy advocacy. The human resources department oversees personnel, staff training, student intern, and volunteer functions, and the administration and finance departments oversee information management systems, support staff, accounting and payroll operations. Valley cities continues to integrate trained and certified peer support specialists into all programs, allowing their own recovery, and motivating others to find hope and growth in their recovery process. Valley cities clinics offer a unique model of care, care coordination. All clients are assigned to a care coordinator who then assists them in connecting to resources in the agency and in the community. Clinicians are trained in evidenced based treatment modalities including cbt+ (trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children) and love and logic parenting skills. Through care coordination, valley cities still treats children, adults and older adults, but as a team approach so each individual gets the focus that they need.
valley cities clinics in kent, auburn, enumclaw, federal way, kent, meridian at northgate, midway, rainier beach, renton, pike place, lake city, and st. Vincent de paul-aurora offer a unique model of care, care coordination. All clients are assigned to a care coordinator who then assists them in connecting to resources in the agency and in the community. Clinicians are trained in evidenced based treatment modalities including cbt+ (trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children) and love and logic parenting skills. Through care coordination, valley cities still treats children, adults and older adults, but as a team approach so each individual gets the focus that they need. Services are provided to meet the needs of children, youth and their families with mental illnesses or emotional disturbances; children, youth and families who are in crises; and children and youth who are victims of trauma or family violence. These services include individual and family counseling; in home family support and advocacy; school-based counseling; crises intervention; case management; psychiatric assessment; case coordination with other service providers; medication management; support groups and skills for training parents; outreach clinical teams for homeless families; community consultation and education; and specialized treatment for those with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Services are also provided to assist adults and their families with mental health and chemical dependency treatment services. In addition, specialized services are available to those who have experienced sexual abuse or domestic violence. Services are designed with an emphasis on recovery and hope. Valley cities provides employment and educational services so that clients can be supported to return to work or school. The chemical dependency services include intensive outpatient and specialized relapse prevention services and are integrated with the mental health services for those clients that have co-occurring mental health and chemical dependency problems. Valley cities is committed to quality mental health care delivered from a recovery orientation, meaning that its treatments and interventions extend beyond symptom improvement to a more holistic approach to care that helps its clients live, work, learn, and fully participate in their communities. Various public and private funding sources and individual client fees are used to fund services. A sliding fee scale is available to help individuals gain access to services. Services are provided to more than 13,000 individuals and their families every year. Valley cities' programs consist of: care coordination at each outpatient clinic a care coordinator will be the main point of contact at valley cities. They will help walk the client through how to get services at valley cities, ask them about what difficulties they are having and try to find ways to help. They will connect the client with the appropriate level of care that is needed, which can include counseling, medications, peer support, or groups. They can also help connect them to services in the community, like a primary care physician or a dentist. The care coordinator helps manage all of the expertise needed to provide the best outcomes for our clients. Peer support services valley cities proudly offers a range of support services provided by certified peer counselors. Peers are an integral part of the care team at valley cities, offering insight, empowerment, and engagement from life experience. Peer support is based on the philosophy that someone who has faced life circumstances similar to yours may be the person who can understand you the most. Peers are living, walking examples of hope and that recovery is possible. Peer support counselors have been trained, tested, and certified to inspire hope and provide unique support to people receiving mental health and chemical dependency services. Because of their unique experience with mental illness and mental health services, peer counselors provide expertise that professional training cannot replicate. Peers at valley cities offer many services, and each peer has personal lived experience in the field in which they work. Peers participate regularly in clinical team meetings and offer valuable input and insight that only lived experience can offer. They are provided on-going clinical training and supervision. Children's wraparound services valley cities wraparound serves high needs youth in the kent, auburn, federal way and enumclaw school districts who are eligible for one of two wraparound programs offered in king county. 1) wraparound with intensive services - wise (youth utilizing medicaid funded mental health treatment) or 2) midd wraparound (youth involved in at least two of the following systems: mental health, special education, juvenile justice, child welfare, dda - development disabilities, and chemical dependency. ) wraparound facilitators, parent partners and youth peers worked collaboratively with the youth, families, providers and community members to develop a cross system care plan driven by the youth and families identified needs and goals. Wraparound staff follow ten guiding principles as they support the team planning process. These principles are: family voice and choice, team based, natural supports, collaboration, community- based, culturally competent, individualized, strengths based, persistence and outcomes based. Valley cities serves about 260 youth per year, a number that will grow in 2018 as the program continues to expand. The average youth is served in wraparound for 18 months and outcomes include fewer hospital visits, increased school attendance and achievement and fewer police contacts. Families leave wraparound with increased ongoing supports and improved skills to navigate their youth's recovery moving forward family treatment court wraparound family treatment court is an alternative to regular dependency court and is designed to improve the safety and well-being of children in the dependency system by providing parents access to drug and alcohol treatment, judicial monitoring of their sobriety and individualized services to support the entire family. Valley cities is the only wraparound program in the state of washington to work with adults as the identified client, to amplify the parent's voice in the dependency process. A wraparound facilitator works with the team to discover the individual's strengths, set goals, determine major needs, and develop strength-based options to meet those needs. A valley cities facilitator works with 15 families at a time to provide this critical resource in order to keep families together in a safe and healthy environment. Prevention and community support program in cooperation with: federal way school district: valley cities runs the real talk for teens program, formerly known as girls circle at multiple schools within the district. Each year 160 high-risk youth, 10 at-a-time, meet once a week for 13 weeks to work on life skills and decision making. In collaboration with the school district, youth enrolled in the program work to increase their school attendance, academic performance, and ability to handle stressful events at home, in the community, and at school. Youth chosen for the program are not only at high risk for dropping out of school, but are also at a higher risk for involvement with gangs, unplanned pregnancy, and entering the criminal justice system. Valley cities' goal is to help these youths finish school and become positive contributors to the community. Valley cities has adopted the methods developed by the center for youth program quality and is committed to a constant engagement in self- assessment and continual program improvement. Valley cities program has been favorably graded by them, and valley cities continues to make adjustments to have the most effective program possible. In addition to real talk for teens, valley cities has offered youth mental health first aid training to several staff members within the district in an effort to better support youth who may be experiencing a mental health challenge and/or crisis. Both of these programs are rooted in prevention and early intervention. Kent school district: in response to the high degree of mental health/substance use problems in schools, the needs of students and staff limitations in addressing those needs, the district and valley cities collaborates to provide prevention, early intervention and treatment services to the students in kent school district. This program started in 2016. Bridges valley cities' bridges program provides site based mental health engagement, screening, and assessment services on an outreach basis to individuals who are enduring homelessness. During 2017, valley cities bridges program provided outreach services to 138 chronically homeless adults. Valley cities mental health outreach specialists provide services