With a lot of persistence, we spent every day showing Joy that we cared about her, we wanted the best for her, and we were here to help. Days turned into weeks and it became clear to us that Joy’s mental health was holding her back from moving towards her goals and connecting with other people. We spent weeks trying to help her see a psychiatrist and every time something seemed to pop up and it didn’t work out. Finally one day Joy told us she had a psychiatrist appointment and she wanted me to go with her.
I packed up a bag of everything I thought we would need to get through the appointment: snacks, toys to fidget with, and the promise of a coffee together afterwards. The appointment was tough, and Joy had to talk about some of her feelings that she had hidden from the world for so long. Several times through the appointment Joy looked at me as though to say “am I doing okay? Is this normal?”
With a lot of bravery and some encouragement from me, Joy was given medication to help her manage her mental health. It wasn’t very long after that appointment that Joy was finally well enough for us to see the real her. She was kind, funny, generous, and just really needed some human connection and unconditional love. It was such an amazing experience to travel through that part of Joy’s journey with her help her re-connect with her true, wonderful self.
Shared by Jenna, Youth Worker in our Crisis Program