Mental Health America (MHA) of Los Angeles: Antelope Valley Enrichment Services
Lancaster – MHA has numerous vital to critical resources to offer the residents of the Antelope Valley. All of the services are enumerated below. Please read through them carefully. If you identify or can identify someone who has needs of any of these services, please refer them. All of the text comes from a printed handout available at the offices of MHA located at 506 W. Jackman St. in Lancaster.
Founded in 1924, Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHA) is a private, non-profit charitable organization with a mission to ensure that all people with mental illness assume their full and rightful place in the community. Its message is simple - mental health matters to the health and well-being of everyone. MHA provides services in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach and throughout Los Angeles County. To address a broader range of mental health issues, MHA changed its name from the Mental Health Association in 2008.
Serving the Antelope Valley community since 1988, MHA Antelope Valley Enrichment Services offers a broad spectrum of services for adults and young adults with mental illness, including those who are homeless. It also serves veterans and returning military personnel and their families with or without mental health issues. MHA helps individuals develop skills, gain self-confidence and receive the support they need to move from isolated, hopeless lives to lives with purpose, dignity and self-reliance.
SERVICES FOR THE ANTELOPE VALLEY COMMUNITY
ADULT PROGRAMS
With one-to-one service planning and support, MHA helps adults with mental illness live as independently as possible. The program tailors a full range of services - mental health care, housing assistance, job training and employment, substance abuse recovery, social and living skills training and money management - to each individual's needs. MHA works to break the cycle for people with mental illness who may end up in jails for minor offenses, in hospitals and on the streets.
TRANSITION AGE YOUTH PROGRAMS
MHA helps young people make a safe transition from foster care and children's mental health systems to adult services by focusing on welcoming, peer support, community integration and learning to live self-sufficiently in the adult world. The program offers the same full range of services as for adults but tailored to the needs of those who are 18 to 25 years of age.
MILITARY RESOURCE CENTERS
The MHA Military Resource Centers provide a confidential, caring environment for veterans, returning military personnel and their families with counseling and connections to local resources to ensure a successful transition or readjustment to community life. Its Operation Healthy Homecoming project enhances housing stability of homeless and at-risk veterans and their families through short term rental assistance, employment, benefits linkage and planning to maintain sustainable lives.
Homeless Assistance Programs
Opened in 1996, this is the valley's first-of-a-kind service aimed specifically for homeless persons with mental illness, including those with substance abuse problems. Drop-in services meet immediate needs for showers, laundry, clean clothes and food. Long-term assistance in finding housing, learning living skills, receiving mail and accessing mental and physical health are key to helping individuals move to safety and stability. MHA's Multi disciplinary Integrated Team (MIT) is responsive to community concerns and provides field-based services to all homeless individuals and families.
Employment
MHA's Antelope Valley Employment Services (AVES) provides preemployment assessment, job-seeking skills, work adjustment, job development, job placement, coaching, retention and employer supports. MHA works in collaboration with the State Department of Rehabilitation and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health to provide a full menu of vocational opportunities, based on the model of "choose, get, keep.”
Housing
MHA develops low-income housing to bring permanent, affordable homes to people with mental illness and veterans. MHA partners with the county on projects that pair housing certificates and supportive care. Another partnership evolved in the building of Arbor Fields, a 100-unit, low-to-moderate -income apartment complex, with several units designated specifically for individuals with disabilities. MHA additionally provides supportive services to these individuals who are ready for independent living.
Discovery Resource Center
Located in the City of Palmdale, the center is the valley's first mental health program run by people with mental illness. It offers education classes, recovery group meetings, life and work skills, training, and information library, computer instruction, and social activities in the community.
Public Education
MHA's public education campaign promotes positive mental health in the community and in schools, including social connectedness, staying positive, Hope and Recovery, getting support to deal with hard times, recognizing symptoms of mental health conditions and the importance of seeking professional help. MHA also coordinates Law Enforcement Mental Health training for LA County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol and local public safety officers to increase officer's skills in communications, interactions and understanding of persons with mental illness and those in crisis.
Accredited through the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) Mental Health America of Los Angeles
506 W. Jackman St. • Lancaster, CA 93534 • (661) 726 2850 Photo:MHA www.mhala-aves.org