HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – The Boys and Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg and Rockingham is expanding its youth wellness initiative in a new partnership with James Madison University’s Counseling and Psychological Services, or CAPS, and the JMU Madison Center for Community Development.
The partnership is focused on making mental health care more accessible for local youth.
“We have had a mental health focus for the last almost four years, and as we’ve started to serve deeper in that mental health realm, we determined that many of our youth were facing challenges that needed further and deeper supports,” said Sandra Quigg, the CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg and Rockingham.
Quigg said the inspiration for this expansion stems from the lack of mental health resources in rural areas, a gap she hopes this can help fill.
“There are wait lists for mental health supports for all ages, but in particular for the youth,” Quigg said. “Having this support in our clubs means that we’re removing barriers that exist regarding transportation and cost.”
She said it’s important for youth to receive mental health support from organizations like the Boys & Girls Club— where children and families feel they have already built an amount of trust.
“Mental health and youth wellness is all about trust, and that’s one of the things that clubs do the best. We are experts at creating positive, strong relationships with the youth we serve and with the families,” Quigg said. “We bridge the gap between school and home, and so based on those two positive trusting relationships, we’re able to guide families and youth to receive supports that might be stigmatized or they might not be able to afford.”
Lili Peaslee, associate director of the Madison Center for Community Development, said she and her colleagues have been working with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg and Rockingham for years, and that helping implement and evaluate evidence-based programs is crucial.
“One of the things we’ve noticed is working with them and talking with the staff here are the challenges that, like many kids across Virginia and the United States, are struggling with mental health, and we helped them implement the wellness program initially, and noticed that a lot of kids, even though they’re struggling with emotional problems and conduct behaviors, are not receiving the kinds of behavioral health services that they might need,” she said.
Peaslee said that in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg, she and her team have seen mental health become an issue, which is why she said this partnership is so important.
“We know that in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, things like depression and anxiety, suicidal ideation have been growing over the past decade or so … and so there’s a widespread number of things that we’re hoping both the prevention aspects of the youth development program here can address,” she said.
Peaslee said partnerships like this help strengthen behavioral health workforces while also supporting families.
“CAPS has graduate students. They’re doctoral students who work in the clinic. A lot of that is on site, and we’re now going to be bringing them into the clubs,” she said. “Having our students be able to have community-based placement sites, where they can practice and get their hours that they need, is really essential, and it also gives them an orientation towards serving in a different capacity.”
Peaslee said that overall, this partnership will also provide a well-rounded program that can help families in the area meet their mental health service needs.
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