Mental Health Matters: It Really Does Take A Village

By Director of Mental Health Services Griselda Williams

The old proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” seems to ring just as true today as ever before. As originally used in the sense to help take care of other people’s children, today you can attribute this proverb in a combination of ways using vigilance, wisdom and compassion.  For a family experiencing homelessness, Community LINC becomes that village for the families who need our services.    

As one of the largest single-site providers of Interim Housing for homeless families in the greater Kansas City area, Community LINC serves some of the most vulnerable.  When most families walk through Community LINC’s doors they are living below the federal poverty line and have experienced significant debt and housing related barriers (judgments, evictions, and outstanding utilities bills).   It is during these tough times that we become that village.

As Director of Mental Health Services, I have the opportunity to witness everyday how the impact of community works utilizing the village proverb.  The Community LINC village is a place with a dwelling made of a strong and substantial foundation. A place that feels safe and protective.  A home that has doors and windows that opens freely, helping to make the village a pleasant place to dwell. 

The people that tend to the village are warm, inviting and have faith and understanding to know that from time to time every person needs a village to go to for support. Those who enter the village need someone to listen to their journey without judgment, someone to help them maneuver through the often treacherous events that occurred before they arrived, someone to learn basic life skills from, someone to help them manage life and even someone to pray for them. 

I have witnessed all of these village-like activities in the past 8 months at Community LINC. It is in these tough times that we become their “village,” a safe haven for our families.  Our collaborations provide the most effective, efficient, client-centered services to provide a helpful hand that takes care of their individual needs.

I smile as I think of Daria, a single mother of two.  Daria has spent much of her life without the support of family and friends.  She found herself at yet another homeless shelter not knowing what tomorrow may bring for her family.  I share these short words of Daria as for the first time she found a village that provided her with the tools needed to remove the barriers to self-sufficiency.  Through her active engagement in the programs provided through Community LINCs village of services, Daria has a new job and a new home for her family. 

I have witnessed the full impact of the village concept for ‘those in need’ here at the Community LINC village.  “It takes a village to help raise a community,” and, I am truly proud to be one of those who tend to the village.