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.
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.
As an employee of Wellness in the Woods I can speak to the magnitude of the difference this organization is making. In my role I have seen peers blossom and grow so much, gain self confidence and really learn self advocacy and even how to communicate to the best of their abilities with other peers by learning and growing with what the program has to offer. As an employee and person, Wellness in the Woods has offered me so much from Hope to Personal Responsibility to Recovery and so much more. Beginning in this work I was really shaky and unsure of myself. I had feelings of self doubt and if I had anything to offer my peers in support. I was quickly taken under the wing of an amazing woman who has a similar background and story as me. She took me aside and offered support to me in how I could find who I was and open up to the people we serve. I was met with such kindness it would forever transfer my self and how I serve others. She also inspired me in her recovery from a shared diagnosis. The hope and inspiration she instilled in me led me to a recovery from diagnosis myself. Having come to no longer meet the criteria of the mood and personality disorders I suffered from my whole life. In my personal growth and development in time with this organization I have worked myself off of Social Security Disability. I went from a here and there participant to an employee working in 6 different roles within the company. Being a part of this has shaped and developed my life and purpose in a way I cannot say enough about. Wellness in the Woods has been amazing!
I met the founder during the pandemic, and she invited me to learn more about her organization. This organization is filled with people who believe in the work that Wellness in the Woods is doing.
Wellness in the Woods is an excellent organization that provides mental health support services. It advocates honest and open discussion about mental health issues, educating individuals and families about raising suicide awareness to mental health challenges, to substance abuse and recovery. It does not shy away from life’s tough subjects but instead addresses unyielding subjects with empathy, compassion, sensitivity, kindness and connection. It encourages diversity with an emphasis on uniting all with help, no matter what one’s obstacles or background.
The goal is to help as many as possible through the website, including workshops, seminars, a virtual peer support network, a peer support network Warmline, recovery action plans, mental health first aid, a blog and statewide services, including outreach.
The Executive Director is passionate and dedicated to improving the wellness of all individuals in Minnesota. I’ve found it is an all over great organization that is dedicated to promoting joy and becoming our best selves.
I met with Jode the Executive Director of Wellness in the woods several times and she did for us mental health training which I never heard before. from that moment as a New American I understand what it means to be having Mental health issues than before. Jode empowered us and make us to understand the importance of having mental health training.