About Heart to Heart

CURRENTLY:

Currently, our program is in its early stages. We just received our 501c3 and we are very excited to continue our mission for adolescents and young adults living wi severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). As we have little funding, we have several steps that we wish to accomplish with Heart to Heart - WY, some short-term and some long-term. 

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OUR STEPS:

Step 1:

Create a support team with local therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists to pair individuals up with a therapist that is going to work perfectly for their specific needs. Are you a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist that would like to work with us, if so please contact us! It takes a community and we would love to have you a part of ours!

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Step 2:

Offer counseling, one on one support, weekly phone checks with individuals, and support groups in a safe and secure environment. Starting there will be a day program every Friday after school. Once our program grows our goal is to provide transportation to and from, as we know transportation can be difficult.  If our program grows to the point where we don't have enough space in our vehicles, we will work with the bus company to see if they would be able to drive them to our location. Starting, the therapies we will emphasize are cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness, recreational, herbal and focus solution therapies. To understand what type of therapies these are, click here. 

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Step 3:

Create successful fund-raisers to fund future programs for our teenagers and help pay for therapy if a family is unable to pay for therapy for their adolescents or if a young adult cannot pay for their own therapy. If you would like to help with one of our fund-raisers, please contact us!

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Step 4:

Pair with businesses that can help with different therapies for adolescents and young adults. Our goal is to have several different therapies for our clients so each individual can determine which therapy is best for them. These can range from animal therapy, art therapy, dance therapy, cooking therapy, outdoor therapy, and more. As each individual is unique, so should be their therapy treatment. Contact us if you would be interested in volunteering your expertise to help with one of these therapies, or a therapy you haven't seen here.  

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Step 5: 

Pair with businesses that are willing to mentor individuals so the stress of "figuring out their future" is less stressful and they can decide if they really are going to enjoy a specific position, having less stress and anxiety to weigh on their shoulders.

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Step 6: 

Change can be difficult for anyone, but especially difficult for individuals living with mental health. We would love to find a permanent location for Heart to Heart. A place where individuals feel safe. A location where after an attempted suicide or someone that has self-harmed can stay that is monitored and welcoming, versus a hospital bed. A place that is safe for all adolescent individuals dealing with any mental health crisis. 

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Step 7:

Work on changing legislation so adolescents in Wyoming can get help without their parents' permission. Currently, in order to seek mental health care, you must be 18 years or older in Wyoming, without their parents' permission. Currently, in the state of Wyoming, only 12.5% of children are receiving therapy. According to a  2019 study, 18.8% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide and 8.9% attempted suicide. With teen suicide rate on the rise and Wyoming being the highest per capita in suicide, our goal is to not only change the perception of mental health illness but also change the legislation so teens can get the help and support they need before it may be too late. 

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Step 8:

We will provide crisis intervention for families that have adolescents with SPMI and while the child is having an attack, if the parents are getting overwhelmed we will drive to the home to help the child refocus their energy.