Villa Views Spring 2023

ACCELERATING ACCESS TO SERVICE

The Villa will soon be home to the region’s first emergency room alternative for youth experiencing mental health crisis. A new Crisis Receiving Center (CRC) launching in partnership with Henrico County is designed to give children and their families immediate access to mental health care, in their own community, and divert hospitalization.

Many parents and caregivers with a child in crisis first turn to hospital emergency departments for help, where they can wait days for appropriate treatment. Long wait times at

St.

County break ground on Central Virginia’s first youth Crisis Receiving Center

already overburdened hospitals can add to distress and escalate the crisis.

Open 24/7 for call and walk-in service, the CRC will provide rapid and comprehensive assessment, crisis intervention services, and referrals to community-based providers for ongoing support–all within 23 hours of an admission.

“This Crisis Receiving Center specifically designed for youth marks a major milestone in expanding our community’s access to essential mental health care,” said Kathleen Burke Barrett, CEO of St. Joseph’s Villa.

“We’re proud to collaborate with Henrico County to address the growing need for crisis services, and ensure youth can receive skilled support when they most urgently need it.”

The demand for youth crisis services is at a historic high. At the Villa, we’ve seen a surge both in the number of families seeking mental health services, and in the intensity of care needed. According to the Virginia Department of Health, emergency room visits for suicidal thoughts, self-harm, or suicide attempts among 9 to 18-yearold Virginians more than doubled from 2016-2021.

The Newsletter of St. Joseph’s Villa

Joseph’s Villa and Henrico

Villa, local, and state officials joined together for a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new center on April 27th.

Accelerating Access to Service (con’t)

“The importance of these centers cannot be overstated. They’re so vital that the governor made them a centerpiece of his ‘Right Help, Right Now’ initiative for mental health,” said John Littel, Secretary of Health & Human Resources. “We have so few facilities that specially target young people in mental health crises.”

The pilot program will serve youth between 7 and 17 years of age residing in Region 4 of Central Virginia. Capacity will begin at six youth when the CRC first opens, and gradually expand to nine. Family involvement will be a key component of the CRC through in-person and virtual options.

“Henrico County believes in the power of partnerships to build a stronger community, and this project is more evidence of what can happen when nonprofit and government sectors join forces,” said Frank Thornton, chairman

of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors. “Utilizing the expertise of St. Joseph’s Villa, this center will provide essential mental health services for so many young people, and support for their families, in Henrico and the broader region.”

Renovations to the existing 1,780 sq. ft. Villa building will be completed in 2024, at an estimated cost of nearly $1 million. The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is funding the project.

The CRC marks the Villa’s second regional partnership to provide critical youth mental health services. Our Crisis Stabilization Unit opened in 2012 in partnership with Richmond Behavioral Health Authority, and also serves Region 4. Like the Crisis Stabilization Unit, the CRC will keep youth in their community–a crucial part of their wellbeing.

Snapshot of Youth Mental Health in the U.S.

16%

of youth report suffering from at least one major depressive episode in the past year. More than 2.7 million youth are experiencing severe major depression.

60%

of youth with major depression do not receive mental health treatment.

1 in 10

youth with private insurance do not have coverage for mental or emotional difficulties.

48th

Virginia currently ranks 48th in youth mental health access, according to Mental Health America’s 2023 annual report.

Counties: Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Greensville, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George, Surry, Sussex

Cities: Emporia, Hopewell, Petersburg, Richmond

The Crisis Receiving Center will serve youth residing in Region 4 of Virginia.

“This is clearly a public health emergency,” said Secretary of Health & Human Resources John Littel.

Flagler to pilot Shared Housing in Greater Richmond Continuum of Care

As we face a deficit of affordable housing across the nation, the Villa’s Flagler Housing & Homeless Services team is piloting Shared Housing as a new viable option for individuals to prevent and exit homelessness. The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports that only 36 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income households. Under the Shared

Housing model, two or more unrelated tenants have their own room and share a common living space. Each tenant has the opportunity to be introduced and matched with a compatible housemate, and may leave Shared Housing at any time according to their individual lease.

By reducing individual rent burdens, this

DID YOU KNOW?

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the average asking rent in Richmond was $1,285 –up 8.8% from a year earlier.

46.2% of homes in Richmond are oneperson households; the number of people living alone has increased 3.9% year-overyear since 2016.

BENEFITS OF SHARED HOUSED

Exit homelessness sooner

Afford better quality housing in client’s desired neighborhood

Client can choose housemate(s)

Decrease isolation and increase personal support

model not only offers clients more housing options, but can also reduce the length of move-in time. Other parts of the U.S. that have implemented Shared Housing have seen success for all populations served, including people with substance use and mental health challenges.

Like all pilot programs, launching the Shared Housing model in Richmond will be a learning process. Flagler will work specifically with individuals for the pilot, and share outcomes with partner agencies this fall.

Center for

Autism

Sago

Toy

Research

Project: Building essential life skills through play

The Villa is committed to being a critical lifeline for families touched by an autism diagnosis, while providing every student with the best quality education. At our Sarah Dooley Center for Autism (SDCA), our dedicated faculty and staff use best-practice, autism-specific techniques to help students engage their communities and build life skills to maximize their independence. We’re excited to share SDCA’s latest research project aimed at making key advancements in autism education!

Led by Brittany Leggett, one of the Villa’s Board Certified Behavior Analysts, we’re studying the correlation between digital play on a touch-screen tablet and creative toy play with the Sago Mini World application and toy line. Knowing that many of our students and individuals with autism enjoy

entertainment activities through digital technology, we’re investigating whether specific play behavior taught digitally will translate into real-world play with toys.

If students are able to

replicate play

behavior that they learned on a touch screen with toys, imagine how many other skills we could teach through similar methods! It would be another tool in our toolbox to expand our students’ worlds and help them discover and master new life skills.

Twelve SDCA students are currently participating in the study, which will be completed by the end of the 2022-23 school year. We look forward to publishing our findings, and contributing new literature on our understanding of individuals with autism and effective teaching practices!

The Diner set is one of the toys we use in the study. We combine this learning with community-based instruction by taking our students to restaurants, stores, parks, and other public places. Students interact with people in a variety of settings, increasing their probability for meaningful community engagement as adults.

Our Center for Autism students have learned over 12,000 new words this year!

Prevention & Diversion Case Manager Kristin Dibler introduces the Shared Housing model at a service provider workshop, held in partnership with Homeward in the Villa’s Robins Auditorium.

John RichardsonLauve , LCSW Senior Director of Community Outreach and Trauma-Informed Care Specialist

The Villa family is pleased to welcome John Richardson-Lauve! John is a licensed clinical social worker with over 30 years of experience in the field of community mental health. He has worked with individuals struggling with chronic mental illness and substance use disorder, as well as youth in residential care, foster care, and outpatient mental health. He is an accomplished speaker and facilitator, having led numerous organizational trainings for audiences that include state departments of education, the National Resilience Institute, Marine Base Quantico, Cornell University, and the FBI. John and his wife have fostered over 50 children in their home.

Giving Kids their Best Shot: The Villa Gym Floor Project

Exercise and physical activity play an important role in the lives of our children. Studies show a direct correlation between activity and improved mental and behavioral health, and at the heart of the Villa campus, our gymnasium has promoted healthy choices and recreation for nearly a century.

When the gymnasium first opened in 1931, a Wurlitzer jukebox presided over weekly dance lessons and roller-skating parties. On many occasions, music was replaced by the raucous crowd at Villa basketball games, where the Villa girls–perennial favorites–won numerous state and local tournaments.

Our gymnasium remains a hub of campus activity today, welcoming more than 250 students through its doors each year, along with community partners who host after-school, evening, and weekend programming. After 92 years of wonderful memories and numerous resurfacings, the original hardwood floors have reached

the end of their lifespan and are in urgent need of replacement.

How can you help?

We’re working to raise $95,000 this year to replace the floors and create a safe playing environment for our students and community members. The new high-performance flooring will also include a volleyball net system, which will give Villa students the chance to enjoy new activities while also increasing community group rental opportunities.

Your gift to the Villa Gym Floor Project will help us maintain one of our most treasured campus resources, and be a home for recreation that will benefit generations to come.

For more information about this project or making a gift, please contact P.J. Shaver at 804-553-3220 or pshaver@sjvmail.net. @st.josephs.villa

Stepping up: Saxon Shoes creates career opportunities for Villa students

The Villa’s partnership with Saxon Shoes has grown over the years from what started as a holiday fundraiser for local nonprofits in 2016. Today, the store serves as a work training site for our Career and Transition Services students, where they can build valuable skills for employment.

The Villa’s Career and Transition Services (CATS) supports individuals with emotional, behavioral and academic challenges, as well as those with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. Local CATS partners like Saxon Shoes help participants gain problem solving and communication skills in realworld work environments that they can apply to reaching their individual goals in the future.

“We like to let the students know what they’re doing, and why they’re doing it, so that they can take ownership and feel good about the work,” said Gary Weiner, president and owner of Saxon Shoes. “If they can leave here with a smile on their face and a sense of accomplishment, that alone is worth the effort.”

Harmony, a student in our Dooley School, is one of two Villa students who currently visits Saxon Shoes each week to help with tasks around the store. Between organizing inventory, stocking shelves and helping with shredding, Harmony has come to excel in her responsibilities with support from her teacher, Carol Kurz, and Crissy Egerton, a member of the CATS team.

Gary says that throughout the store’s 70 years as part of the Richmond community, giving back has been a cornerstone of the business.

“Our staff at Saxon love seeing the kids come around, they like being involved, and they like to see the growth in the students just like the staff at the Villa.”

Not only has Saxon Shoes welcomed multiple Villa students through its doors to help them learn in the workplace, they’ve gone on to hire two of our Dooley Center for Alternative Education students. Putting into practice the skills and knowledge they gained from CATS staff and training at Saxon, these students are thriving in their new jobs.

“We couldn’t be prouder of the hard work our students put in each day they’re with us, whether in the classroom or at a worksite out in the community,” said Matthew Kreydatus, Director of Career and Transition Services. “Seeing that work open doors for them, and help them realize the skills they have to offer, makes it all the more rewarding. Partnerships with local businesses like Saxon Shoes make these transformations possible.”

Over 120 students participated in the Villa’s Career and Transition Services last year!

proudly supports St. Joseph’s Villa

Thanks to Lewis Insurance Associates for sponsoring this newsletter.

Dooley School student Harmony (center) trains weekly at Saxon Shoes in Short Pump with support from her teacher Carol Kurz (left) and store president/owner Gary Weiner.

Capital One volunteers decorated our holiday shop, where students can pick out gifts for themselves and their families during our Season of Hope.

Villa students showcase their creativity at VCU Film Festival

In the ninth year of collaboration between St. Joseph’s Villa and the VCU Department of Focused Inquiry, our students worked with their VCU mentors to craft four short films. Students were tasked with drafting a screenplay based on a series of silly words that they threw into a hat and drew at random, so the storylines were intentionally fun and surprising.

Over the course of three months, Villa students visited VCU’s campus six times with our Career & Transition Services team to meet their mentors and brainstorm, storyboard, and film their movies. While practicing creative storytelling, teamwork, and leadership, they also improved their technological skills using iPads and movie editing software. The VCU students designed workshops, provided structure for the project, and even acted in the movies.

Partner Spotlight: Capital One

For more than 2 decades, Capital One has generously given their time, treasure, and talent to support Villa children and families. Over the last year, hundreds of employees volunteered more than 600 hours! They’ve been leaders in supporting our annual Season of Hope campaign, and have even helped improve Villa systems by streamlining our admissions process for educational programs, supporting new budgeting software for our finance department, enhancing our onboarding process with our HR team, and creating online forms for our Housing and Homeless Services program. Capital One’s investment in the Villa is second to none, and we are so grateful for their compassion and care for the community!

Career & Transition Services students celebrated with their VCU mentors and received awards after their Film Festival premieres.

The project culminated in a celebratory Film Festival at VCU, where all four movies were screened: Love on the Slopes Summer Skies , a love story; Don’t Wake Me Up, a comedy; Carl’s House , a morality tale; and NFL Drama, an action/adventure film. Students, teachers, and friends ate popcorn and watched the films, and awards were

given to students for their contributions, positive energy, and creative talent. The audience liked the finished products so much, they watched them twice!

We look forward to year ten of partnering with VCU’s Focused Inquiry class!

Honoring a Legacy of Service

DEAR FRIENDS,

In July of this year, I will be retiring from the Villa, and so many thoughts and memories have been going through my head. For 17 years, I have watched everyone on this campus prioritize the children and families we serve now, and have served in Richmond since 1834. It has been a joy and a privilege to be a part of this mission.

We’ve accomplished so much together during my time here, including the completion of the organization’s first two capital campaigns. The campaigns transformed the Villa’s 82 acres by creating new garden and recreational spaces, safely connecting programs with pedestrian walkways, increasing accessibility, and opening a state-of-the-art Center for Autism.

None of it could have been done without you.

As a donor to the Villa myself, I’ve seen how philanthropy helps the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our community. It’s what inspired me to want to continue giving for years to come. They say you can’t take it with you, but there are ways to provide support long after I have gone. I set up a Planned Gift through my estate that will help provide hope and healing to future generations at the Villa. Doing that has been so satisfying to me.

I’ve been part of many nonprofits here in Richmond, and it has been my distinct honor to serve the mission of this historic organization, and to work alongside an extraordinary team, all of whom are driven to change lives. I can’t think of a better place to leave my legacy than St. Joseph’s Villa.

It is an honor to be part of the Archway Society, and I hope that you will consider joining me as a planned giving donor to support the Villa’s work long into the future.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Burke Barrett

The Archway Society is a distinctive recognition for forward-thinking philanthropists who have made estate provisions benefiting St. Joseph’s Villa.

For more information about how you can leave your legacy at the Villa, please contact P.J. Shaver, CFRE, at pshaver@sjvmail.net or visit www.sjvarchwaysociety.org.

Kathleen Burke Barrett served as Villa CEO from 2006-2023.

Inside: VILLA PILOTS SHARED HOUSING TO PREVENT HOMELESSNESS

GIVING KIDS THEIR BEST SHOT: THE VILLA GYM FLOOR PROJECT

RESEARCH PROJECT TO ADVANCE BEST PRACTICES IN AUTISM EDUCATION

St. Joseph’s Villa Board of Trustees

Kathleen C. Duke , Chair

Christopher M. Layne , Chair-Elect

Kathleen Burke Barrett, Executive Vice President

Mark D. Nichols , Secretary

Suzanne K. Hinton, Treasurer

Donald Alexander

Byron D. Berry

Louise L. Foster

Lee Ann Gudorp

Yvonne Mastromano

Lauren W. Waller

Linda M. Warren

Katina Williams

Richard P. Wintsch

Thomas S. Zachry

Are you looking for a job where you’ll make a difference? At St. Joseph’s Villa, you’ll help change the lives of over 3,000 children and families this year!

What makes the Villa a great place to work?

• Competitive pay

• Comprehensive, affordable benefits package

• Opportunities for professional development

• Supportive environment

• Make a lasting impact in your community

Ready to learn more? Visit JoinSJV.org to view current openings and apply online. We can’t wait to meet you!