As an MHP therapist for the last 20+ years, I’ve worked with countless individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. In my current role as a Homeless Outreach Therapist, I work closely with the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless to provide embedded mental health support, services, and resources to Shelter residents. Each day, my goal is to help these individuals feel a little more hopeful, not completely powerless. If people feel hopeless, they’re paralyzed.
I feel a personal connection to many of the individuals I work with considering that, in some ways, my own life didn’t “go to plan.” At the age of 50, I attended Naropa University’s contemplative psychotherapy program and began my career in counseling. Everyone’s life unfolds differently and in unexpected ways, for better or worse. I often remind my clients that there is no “normal,” and pursuing a happy and fulfilling life looks different for each person.
The longer I do this work, the more I understand that a huge part of the problem of homelessness is social, not personal. In our society, it has become easier for people to lose housing stability due to a lack of safety nets. Many factors can push someone into homelessness: sickness, injury, caring for a loved one, domestic violence, legal issues, incarceration, lack of affordable housing, and of course mental health and addiction challenges.
What gives me joy in my work is reminding these individuals that they are not alone, and helping support them in getting the emotional, mental, social, and financial support they need to find home, healing, and hope.