Health and Wellness

As a result of Roseland’s Counseling Center, both children and adults alike have access to mental health therapy to relieve psychological distress which often leads to long term physical and mental health disabilities. Many Roseland Community residents – both parents and children – suffer from severe childhood traumas. They have experienced or witnessed physical violence, emotional or sexual abuse, substance abuse or prolonged periods of hunger. A family member may have been incarcerated. We believe easy access to mental health therapy to work through these childhood wounds often leads to better outcomes for the entire family.

Mental health and family counseling. Incarnation Place began Roseland’s Mental Health and Counseling Program at the request of several DISD educators, including the principal of Chavez Elementary School, because of their concern for Roseland Community students. Many of these children, they said, were suffering from severe childhood traumas which resulted in fighting, disruptive classroom outbursts and academic failures.

In response, Incarnation Place and Jewish Family Service collaborated to offer on-site counseling to elementary-aged children at Chavez Elementary School and to middle school-aged children at Spence Middle School. Both programs quickly filled up and waiting lists developed. When the pandemic closed schools, virtually all parents discontinued their children’s therapy sessions. During the early months of Covid, Incarnation Place therapists pivoted by offering counseling to struggling parents and teachers and emotional training for other non-profit organization staffers. In addition, they helped lead Roseland Community leaders through six months of racial reconciliation discussions.

As 2021 began, principals at two other schools serving Roseland students – Roseland Head Start and Ignite Middle School – started requesting counseling services for their students. And both therapists, again, have full caseloads.

Crisis intervention and case management. Whether the problem is drug abuse, domestic violence, a job loss or some other unexpected event, Incarnation Place supports families in crisis. Loss of employment and reduced income have become common problems with Covid, causing residents to seek emergency help from Incarnation Place. In response, Incarnation Place has partnered with the Church of the Incarnation’s Dick Granger Ministry and other non-profit providers to give residents emergency financial assistance for rent, electricity, food and medicine.

In addition to vetting emergency requests, Incarnation Place’s Director of Outreach provides one-on-one case management, counseling and emotional support on issues including drug and alcohol rehabilitation, domestic violence, truancy and medical conditions. Depending on circumstances, the director refers residents to Roseland Partners organizations or other non-profit providers. Examples: Covid testing, legal aid and payday loans.

Food pantry and distribution. For many years, Incarnation Place has provided supplemental food distribution to Roseland families. At the onset of the Covid pandemic, DISD schools were unable to provide their low-income students with breakfast and lunch each day, causing many Roseland families to experience larger grocery demands than they could afford. In collaboration with Church of the Incarnation’s Outreach Department, Incarnation Place was able to greatly expand its regular monthly food pantry distribution, reaching more families with more nutritious food, providing enough fresh fruit and vegetables, milk and meat for a week’s worth of meals.

Young mothers’ support group. Incarnation Place convenes the Ladies Oxygen Support Group to help young, often single, mothers deal with overwhelming life challenges, build trusting relationships and mutually support one another to improve their lives and attain their goals. Ladies Oxygen meets twice a month and goes on family outings once a quarter. Five members achieved one or more of their individual goals last year, including landing new jobs, starting a baking business, beginning counseling, spending more time with their children and eating healthier. One member lost 50 pounds.

Roseland Men’s Support Group. In January 2021, Incarnation Place started what it believes to be the first support group for Roseland men in the last 15 years or more. Meeting every Monday night for two hours of study, discussion and fellowship, this group of men has begun a 36-week video course entitled “Authentic Manhood”. Its purpose is to help participants to grow spiritually, emotionally and socially into better role models for their children, their families and their communities.

Dallas LIGHTS Initiative. In collaboration with two other non-profit organizations, Incarnation Place is offering Roseland families a new initiative for overcoming the effects of poverty. Instead of just using income as a measure of poverty, the Dallas LIGHTS Initiative breaks the concept of poverty into a series of many small indicators – for example, having a rainy-day fund equal to the family’s living expenses for a month. The program relies, as a starting point, on each family identifying which of the many small steps are both most desirable and most attainable for it. Then, a coach assigned to the family answers questions and encourages the family’s progress. The Initiative’s operating assumption is that once a family succeeds in achieving one or more of its most desired small steps in “eliminating poverty”, it will gain the necessary motivation to attain several more, and so on, and so on.