Imagine that you’re starting a conversation with someone you have just met, and they want you to list every difficulty, every struggle you’re currently facing.

Sounds uncomfortable, right?  Think if I introduced myself to you and said, “Hi, my name is Katie.  I have a bad right knee so I can’t run, seasonal allergies, and I haven’t been sleeping well.”

First of all, your initial impression of me is what?  That I have problems.  And my focus is on what?  That I have problems.

Unfortunately, many parts of the mental health system require you to focus on the negative in order to justify receiving services.  Because of this, people are overshadowed by their diagnosis, symptoms, medications and side effects, until the person almost seems to become their problem.

A strengths-based approach to recovery acknowledges that we all have problems, but we also have strengths, gifts, talents and skills.

Vail Place focuses first on strengths and gives our members the opportunity to utilize them, focusing on what they can do instead of what they can’t.  At Vail Place, when I introduce myself I might say, “Hi, my name is Katie.  I ‘m a good cook, I love to organize, and I enjoy welcoming new people.”

We purposefully have too few staff to get everything done - we need the members to get the necessary tasks completed every day.  Feeling needed inspires members to try things they might not have tried and bring skills and gifts to the table they might not have otherwise.

Vail Place is a place where everyone is appreciated and, more importantly, wanted, needed and expected.