A 2-1-1 operator for a day

by Erik Sternad
Executive Director, Interface Children & Family Services

Ventura County Together (VCT) executed a fundraising campaign last week to help support the 40 organizations in our county serving the hungry, the homeless, those without health coverage and in need of information and referrals. I’ve been a member of VCT for the last two years and in order to do my part in raising awareness and raising money, I decided to make this campaign personal… I spent last week trying to experience some of the many challenges that people in our community go through. I went hungry for a day, I slept in my car, and then I spent a few hours answering calls in our 2-1-1 information and referral call center. These were symbolic gestures meant to bring awareness to the need for basic services in our community, but I also learned a lot along the way.

I’ve wanted to answer information and referral calls at 2-1-1 since I first came to Interface, and I was delighted to handle 9 calls - mostly by myself on Friday afternoon! The gracious 2-1-1 staff helped me navigate the database screens, while I did the talking on the phone. They only put me on Ventura County calls (not the other seven counties we serve with 2-1-1…whew!). I gave referrals for domestic violence shelters, bilingual counseling, rental assistance and animal control. I remember handling these kinds of information and referral calls when I was working my way through graduate school, but it’s been a long time.

The best call that I received on Friday was from a single mother with a young child and two elderly parents. This young woman was the only breadwinner for this family, and she was facing a foreclosure and imminent eviction on their home of over 20 years. You could hear the relief in her voice as we helped her with temporary housing support, credit counseling (to help advocate for her with the bank foreclosing on their house), and CalFresh (food stamps) support, for which she easily qualified given the number of mouths she was feeding on her own.  I experienced first hand that 2-1-1 is a powerful resource. Now another family has a shot at re-making their future because of one phone call, and the community resources that will flow from it.

Moments like that remind me of why I’m honored to work at Interface.

The Umbrella of Mental Health Services

Defining mental health services - now there is a challenge.  Ask the lady sitting in the cubicle next to you and she'll most likely say, "Those homeless men down by San Jon, the schizophrenics, and all those who have bipolar disorder and hear voices."  While there may be some truth to your work neighbor's words, mental health deserves a true definition for all those people unaware of the fact that ADD, ADHD, autism, anorexia, bulimia, and so many others are also mental illnesses.

According to NAMI, mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning.  Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder.  Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income.  They are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing. They are treatable and most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan.  In addition to medication treatment, psychosocial treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, peer support groups and other community services can also be components of a treatment plan and that assist with recovery.

Therefore, mental health services for an organization must be vast and comprehensive.  Interface is one of the leading providers of mental health services in Ventura County.  Programs such as the Triple P: Positive Parenting Program; Parent Child Interaction Therapy; Child Abuse Treatment; the Program to Evaluate and Treat Sexual Abuse; Victims of Crime - Surviving to Thriving; the Oxnard Youth Services Bureau; Solutions, Recovery Classroom; Juvenile Drug Court; Child/Youth/Family Focused Emotional Wellness; Early Interventions 0-5 Years - Social & Emotional Wellness; and the Intensive Parenting Treatment Program are examples of the umbrella of mental health services that Interface provides. 

I decided to sit down with Mental Health Director, Joelle Vessels, to learn more about her personal experience and what drives her to do the type of work that most people wouldn't be able to leave at the office.

Where & what did you do prior to joining Interface?

"As a Marriage Family Therapist since 1990, I had a private practice for 11 years providing mental health treatment services to adults, families and children, in addition to contracts providing treatment services in residential treatment centers, shelters, and academic settings.  I’ve provided individual, family and group therapy to children and adults affected by trauma, abuse and mental health issues, conducted community presentations, facilitated workshops and authored a relationship enhancement column for a community newspaper in San Bernardino.  Just prior to coming to Interface, I was a therapist at a non public school working with probation and high risk youth who were gang involved.  I really enjoyed watching my clients come to recognize their potential and begin setting steps to bring them out of poverty or illiteracy.  It was also extremely sad when comforting the parents and family members of a child killed by gang violence."

What made you decide to do the work you are doing?

"It’s kind of hard to put into words what leads someone on the path towards a particular profession like a mental health profession. I suppose it’s a number of personal experiences. I can say that I’ve valued every job I’ve had in this profession and am rewarded by the work. I had been a therapist for 10 years when my oldest son was diagnosed with schizophrenia.  Navigating the various systems was certainly less complicated because of my profession.  Reducing the stigma of mental illness is an underlying theme in why I stay in the work. The stigma experienced by an individual with a biological brain disorder impacts the decisions that individual makes about their day to day life, impacts their self-esteem, what contributions they make to life.  Yep, I’d like to make an impact there for sure."

Given all the challenges involved in the type of work you do, what makes you come to work everyday?

"Interface is doing comprehensive work in the community and I’m a believer in that.  I work for an agency whose mission, vision and values I can support.  And I really enjoy my staff – meeting with them and being a part of the work they are doing with their teams."

Thanks, Joelle, for your insight!  Learn more about the mental health programs Interface provides and be sure to educate your family, friends, and neighbors on mental illnesses because according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 57.7 million or 1 in 4 people in the United States are affected.