Success Stories

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John’s Story:

Mental Health Services Lead
to Life Skills and New-Found Talent

John*, a 38-year-old educator, is an exceptionally talented writer with a bright outlook on life.

But it wasn’t always this way.

Not too long ago, John suffered a major depressive episode triggered by a personal crisis. Lacking a support system to help him through his distress, he slipped into a dangerous feeling of hopelessness. Fortunately, Jefferson Center for Mental Health helped him turn his life around. Now John has skills to help him through trying times and a rich creative life writing poetry.

At the Jefferson Center, John accessed a variety of support services that guided him on a path of growth and healing. As part of his recovery, he engaged in therapy and joined one of the Center’s many “Pathways to Recovery” support groups. The group taught him crucial self-help skills and enabled him to build friendships with other clients. A second group, called “Putting Recovery into Words,” led him to discover his remarkable talent for writing—both a creative outlet and potential new career skill.

Community First Foundation supports people like John by partnering with the Jefferson Center. The Foundation selected the Center to participate in its Endowment Challenge Grants program, designed to preserve the future of nonprofits through matching grants and endowment building. In this way, the Foundation and Jefferson Center help ensure mental health services are available to the community for years to come.

Jefferson Center for Mental Health exists to serve the mental health needs of the residents of Jefferson, Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties. More than 6,000 people each year suffer from debilitating diseases such as depression, and seek education and support from the center. Jefferson Center offers hope by encouraging recovery and resilience, fostering self sufficiency, and providing effective therapies and medicines, especially for the underinsured and uninsured. Services include outpatient counseling, 24-hour emergency services, support groups, vocational assistance and residential care.

To learn more about the breadth of services at Jefferson Center for Mental Health, visit www.jcmh.org.

*name has been changed to protect the client and Jefferson Center for Mental Health

Community First Foundation recently awarded Jefferson Center for Mental Health a $125,000 Nonprofit Preservation Endowment Challenge grant.