Oakton, VA – July 30, 2023 – PRS, a leading mental health nonprofit serving Northern Virginia and beyond, has developed the Stepping Stones Program to help clients that need additional day program service options. The program, being piloted at PRS’ Mount Vernon location, fills a gap for clients that no longer require an intensive, rigorous structure and are seeking a step-down alternative, but the program also offers a first step option for individuals new to a psychosocial day program service.
“We have seen a growing need for additional day program service options for people recovering from mental health illnesses. Available programs jumped from intense, highly structured options to much less structured, and we realized that our clients would benefit from a program that fills the gap between those two options,” explained Joseph Getch, CEO, PRS. “Stepping Stones is that program. It also addresses heightened interest in more flexibility in our programming following the pandemic.”
Offered in partnership with the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, Stepping Stones is a psychosocial rehabilitation program for adults who are ready for more independence in their recovery. At Stepping Stones, participants can choose their schedule based on which groups they want to attend specific to their interests and recovery goals. The program is open for four hours each day and offers a combination of structured groups focused on skill-building topics as well as unstructured time. Clients can attend just one group or stay for several hours to allow for pursuing work, school, or volunteering.
Last year, PRS served nearly 1,800 individuals and families through its wellness and recovery programs, helping persons served navigate the mental health system, avoid psychiatric hospitalization, find jobs, strengthen independent living skills, and maintain housing. PRS’ crisis and suicide intervention program, CrisisLink, handled more than 160,000 crisis calls, texts, and chats, providing a trained and empathetic voice for community members facing life crises.
HopeLink Behavioral Health (formerly PRS)
HopeLink is a leading nonprofit helping those living with diverse behavioral health issues and anyone who faces life crises achieve independence, self-sufficiency and safety. HopeLink provides people they serve with skill training and support to help them recover and rebuild their lives through a range of services, including: Psychosocial Rehabilitation Day Program Services, Mental Health Outpatient Therapy, Mental Health Skills-Building, Individual Supported Employment, Peer Support Services, Coordinated Specialty Care and CrisisLink – a national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Center and Regional Crisis Call Center covering most of Virginia. For 24/7 support from CrisisLink, call or text 988. For 24/7 chat support, visit 988lifeline.org/chat. www.HopeLinkBH.org.
