Posts by A Home Within
Inequities in Mental Health Services: It’s Time for a Reckoning and Rectification
By Karen ZilbersteinAugust 25, 2020Originally posted in Mad in America As the country confronts the coronavirus crisis and the ways it has exposed racism and inequality, it is time for the mental health field to look inwards and reckon with its own shortcomings. Similar to other American institutions and disciplines, racial and socioeconomic inequalities tend to…
Read MoreProviding Therapy for Foster Youth While Supporting Therapist Communities
Join Kristin, from Mental Health News Radio, as she speaks with Reed Connell, Executive Director, and Deanna Linville, Director of Clinical Programs, at A Home Within, which helps provide free therapy for current and previous foster youth. As Reed Connell states, A Home Within’s therapists are all part of a ‘community of hundreds of therapists nationwide who volunteer…
Read MoreFoster Youth At The Nexus of Two American Crises
BY DEANNA LINVILLE, FELICIA GUTIERREZ, SARALYN RUFF, REED CONNELL AND ELIZA BLACKORBY The Imprint has recently published dozens of articles exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on foster youth, and how they perceive and participate in this country’s current reckoning with systemic and institutional racism. It is clear that young people are at the nexus of a…
Read MoreThe World Is Watching: Can We Finally Address Our Nation’s Youth Mental Health Crisis?
BY REED CONNELL “Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance, a physical health crisis, it has the seeds of a major mental health crisis as well, if action is not taken.” So begins the United Nations’ Policy Brief: COVID-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health, released May 13, 2020. A similar U.N. brief, released the…
Read MoreDonna Hitchens M.A., J.D. ’77 never dreamed of law, yet changed the system.
We are so proud to have her as a long-standing member of our board! It may be surprising that Donna Hitchens M.A., J.D. ’77—who became the first openly lesbian judge elected to the bench in the United States and spent 20 years of her career on the California Superior Court bench—never dreamed of becoming a…
Read MorePerspectives of Current and Former Foster Youth During COVID-19: Preliminary Report
Saralyn Ruff, our Clinical Consultant, collected responses from young adults in foster care to learn about their experiences and needs during COVID-19. Please review her Preliminary Report here, and contact her with any questions. This national survey assessed the needs, concerns, and strengths of young adults (ages 18-26) with a history of foster care in…
Read MoreVirtual Support Group for Current and Former Foster Youth: Doodling Permitted, Songs Encouraged
On a recent Monday evening, a young man strummed a guitar as he performed an original song for his peers—physically scattered around Oregon but gathered virtually in a video conference room. Listening intently, the other youth waved their fingers in the “sparkle gesture” to show their appreciation for the powerful piece. The youth on the…
Read MoreThe Loving Place for Children That Assumes Beauty
The Loving Place for Children That Assumes Beauty By David Brooks COMO, Italy — Some of the people who do the most good have a willingness to be radically changed. They are sensitive to the problems around them, which a lot of us are, but they are also willing to transform their lives to address them,…
Read MoreSUPERMAN was adopted too…whats your SUPER POWER?
November 8, 2016 When we started this journey, I had no idea what was in store for us. We knew we wanted to add to our family and Foster Care provided us that ability. What we didn’t realize was that the children coming into our home needed us as much or more than we needed/desired…
Read MoreA mother’s love and happiness she hopes her baby still has
October 24, 2016 I am the biological mother of a soon to be 3-year-old boy. He was the very best baby anyone could ever hope for. He never cried, he was always happy and he was very alert and really really smart. I look at my only memories I have of him and can only hope…
Read More