BON SECOURS
In 2016, the Chas Foundation partnered with Bon Secours Health System. The Chas Foundation provided funding for furniture and supplies to improve the surroundings for the patients in the Maryview Behavioral Health Center Inpatient Wing that houses mentally ill patients and serves as a therapeutic center individual patients may utilize while receiving inpatient care.
Prior to their assistance, the multipurpose room was a sterile environment, not optimal to creating a warm and positive setting for individuals suffering from a mental illness. Patients who are able to experience a more calm, nurturing environment increase their opportunities to be more open to treatment and therapy and feel less isolated from their “creatures of comfort” afforded by more home-like surroundings. The Chas Foundation had success in a similar improvement of the Waiting Room for the Crisis Intervention Team Assessment Center in Norfolk in 2015.
The Chas Foundation worked with an interior designer from Design Elements as well as Davis Interiors, toured the current multipurpose room and made an assessment and plan for improvements. Additions included providing more comfortable seating for lounging, chairs, artwork, curtains and supplies for patients to do arts and crafts. Specific research was conducted for items that would meet safety regulations to prevent any potential behavior that would be harmful to the patients or fellow patients.
CHKD
The Chas Foundation began a philanthropic partnership with the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters by making a $40,000 gift to fund education and training for their behavioral/mental health staff members. This significant commitment was made as the result of our team meeting several times with CHKD’s leadership throughout 2016 to learn about the dedicated pediatric behavioral/mental health program. From those meetings came a shared vision for the Hampton Roads community to have a program and place where children can be cared for and receive early intervention for behavioral health issues.
The program has provided staff the opportunity to receive training in the following areas:
- Parent Child Interaction Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Dialectal Behavioral Therapy
- Family Based Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa
Norfolk Portsmouth Bar Association (NPBA)
During the Summer of 2017, the Chas Foundation met with representatives of the Norfolk Portsmouth Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Committee to develop a training course on Mental Health and the Law. The training will take place in the fall of 2017, and will be delivered in a panel format including speakers from the Chas Foundation and judicial system. The goal of the program is to assist attorneys by better understanding the confusing and often difficult process by which individuals may be involuntarily committed by Emergency Custody Order or Temporary Detention Order, as well as resources for families in crisis and those dealing with a mental illness.
City of Norfolk
Please see Program Tab for information on The Chas Foundation’s partnership with the Crisis Intervention Team, Police Department and Community Service Board (CSB)
