Recent News

NEWS RELEASE Vail Place, a non-profit organization providing comprehensive services, supports and resources for adults with mental illnesses, announced it has appointed two new individuals to its Board of Directors,  Monique Rochard-Marine and Ted Schatz. Rochard-Marine is currently Director of Strategic Meetings Management and Event Operations...

13 October, 2020

Written and photographed by Chris K., Vail Place Member There are so many things going through my mind recently. I feel afraid a lot - about what will happen to our country, about healing racism/folks who have been harmed by racism, about COVID-19. And as a...

09 September, 2020

Social Justice is often talked about in broad, sweeping terms, but for Vail Place employee Kayle, social justice is something she works towards every day. Kayle is the Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Housing Services Coordinator at Dow Towers in Hopkins. Her role is...

08 September, 2020

The “Triple Aim” is a common term in healthcare reform with a focus on client experience, lower costs and improved health of the population. The individual who is receiving care or services is the core of the model, with the goal of improved care, health...

08 September, 2020
Margaret Humphrey, Uptown Clubhouse Member, Vail Board Member Every day gets a little easier but it’s been tough, with COVID feeling isolated and disconnected from the world. For a while I was overwhelmed and couldn’t do anything.  Now Zoom meetings have helped tremendously.  At least twice a day you’re connecting with people and listening to people you haven’t seen for quite some time.  It’s a big help.  It feels good. I’m proud, as a board member, of all the employees stepping up in the middle of a crisis and enthusiastically engaging in changes, basically overnight.  The leadership team is doing an excellent job in coordinating everything in a short time.  The Vail Uptown Clubhouse called me, and all members, and kept in contact with people and have connected with people we haven’t heard from in long time.  And we’re doing online enrollment. Vail Place is an extraordinary organization.  We have an extremely good board and leadership.  While other agencies have furloughed staff or closed, we’ve adapted quickly and are reaching out in new ways that we wouldn’t have thought of before.  As a member, I feel so blessed to have found Vail Place.  And I’m excited about the new ways we’ve found to reach out to folks that we can continue to use after we reopen so we’ll be able to hear from people who can’t make it to the Clubhouses – maybe because their mental health is too bad and they can’t get out and about; or someone who’s convalescing and can now plug into meetings daily instead of feeling isolated or alone waiting to recover. B.C., Uptown Clubhouse Member
09 July, 2020
Naomi Fernandez-Rodriguez, Case Manager & Chair of Vail’s Diversity Council Naomi moved to Minnesota from Puerto Rico in 2015 and immediately enrolled in the social work school at the University of Minnesota.  She came to Vail Place as an intern in that same year and was then hired as a case manager in 2016.  In a recent conversation with Development Director, Stefano LoVerso, she shared aspects of her background and experiences that influence her work and her views on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion and her leadership position in the Diversity Council at Vail Place. Stefano:   Would you talk a little bit about your work at Vail Place?  What it's been like adapting during this time – in working with your clients? Naomi: I think it’s been harder because one of the main benefits of case management is establishing that relationship, that trust relationship and reciprocal relationship, and that gets obviously affected when you cannot see people face to face.  The interaction is not the same. The needs are the same and you have to do the same job, with some barriers in the way….  I have actually been providing more than I would do on a regular basis just because I understand that many people don't have other supports and many people are in more distress just because they have less access to social interactions and other services.  So I have been calling and checking a little bit more with people. Stefano:   Tell me about the diversity council. Where it's been, where it is now, where it's going? Your feelings about the work?
09 July, 2020

By Vicky Couillard, Executive Director What an amazing year Vail Place had in 2019! It warranted more than our usual annual report. What you’ll find in the following pages is a celebration of where we came from, who we are, all we’ve accomplished … and what...

29 May, 2020

Vail Place has stayed open throughout COVID-19 and successfully adapted to virtual programming throughout the agency. Read our latest news about our virtual programming and check out our 2019 Annual Report with an overview of all our programs. A glimpse inside some of our virtual programs: CLUBHOUSE...

28 May, 2020

(Hopkins, MN, May 11, 2020) Vail Place, a non-profit organization providing comprehensive services, supports, and resources for adults with mental illnesses, announced it has appointed Kristy Krueger to its Board of Directors. Krueger, a seasoned marketing and brand strategist, is currently Vice President of Marketing...

11 May, 2020

A letter from our Executive Director, Vicky Couillard. I imagine you and the people in your life have been challenged to adjust to our new normal just as we have at Vail Place. I sincerely hope that you are doing well, staying healthy and that you have...

07 April, 2020