For 17-year-old Maria Dugo, self-harm was routine. It banished feelings of hurt, disappointment and rejection. “I had no way to cope other than cutting,” she says. A high school counselor told her about Provident, a mental health counseling agency, and after years of one-on-one and group therapy, she stopped hurting herself. “Provident helped me learn how to better cope with my feelings,” she says. “It helped me form healthy relationships and establish positive coping skills, skills I will use the rest of my life.”
Provident, founded in 1860, is one of the area’s oldest nonprofit family service agencies. A member of United Way of Greater St. Louis, it offers mental health counseling, suicide prevention and community support. Its broad-based mental health counseling is available to all ages, and no one is turned away for inability to pay, says executive director Steve Sullivan.
“For adults, not only do we serve individuals with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, but we also manage treatment programs for ex-offenders in the areas of domestic abuse and sex offenses,” he says. Youth programs include individual and family counseling, school-based services in four schools and a weekly self-injury group for teens. In St. Louis City and Jennings, Provident also maintains 10 after-school programs that serve more than 750 elementary school students and provide tutoring, mentoring, cultural enrichment activities and a hot meal, Sullivan adds.
Much of Provident’s work is focused on suicide prevention. Besides the crisis hotline, the nonprofit maintains Feeling Kinda Blue, an online social network where young adults dealing with depression can find support. Provident monitors the site 24/7 and intervenes if an individual appears suicidal. It also runs Hope After, a program launched in 2014 to reach survivors of suicide attempts. “Many people discharged from the hospital after a suicide attempt have no real safety net,” Sullivan explains.
The need for services like those at Provident is great. Nationally, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, accounting for the loss of more than 41,000 Americans each year, according to the nonprofit. “In 2014, we assisted more than 40,000 through individual and group counseling and our 24/7 crisis hotline,” Sullivan says. “On average, our hotline handles 89 calls per day, with 16 percent expressing suicidal thoughts.”
To raise critical funds, the organization hosts its annual Spirit of Provident Gala Feb. 26 at the Four Seasons. “We’re trying to bring mental health issues to the forefront,” Sullivan says. “It’s still one of those topics people are uncomfortable discussing, but there’s so much to be done.” The event also will include the inaugural Spirit of Provident Award, granted to individuals who work tirelessly to promote mental health in St. Louis. This year’s awardees are husband and wife Mark Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University, and Risa Zwerling, board member of Provident and Our Little Haven.
Thanks to Provident, thousands of individuals like Dugo have found a brighter future. “The group counseling helped me realize I’m not the only one dealing with these problems, and that we can encourage each other to stay strong,” she says. “It’s meant everything to me.”
Pictured: Provident client Maria Dugo
Photo courtesy of Provident
[Provident helps individuals and families face a brighter future through mental health counseling, crisis intervention and community support programs. The nonprofit hosts its annual Spirit of Provident Gala Feb. 26 at the Four Seasons. Pictured on the cover: executive director Steve Sullivan with inaugural Spirit of Provident award-winners Risa Zwerling and Mark Wrighton. For more information, or to register for the gala, contact Maggie Bauer at 314.802.2581 or email mbauer@providentstl.org or visit providentstl.org.]
