News & Notes

When Gryffin started coming to the Bert Nash Center for services, they found the help they needed. They also found a sense of connection and community. “As a trans individual, especially someone nonbinary, I’m often the odd one out,” Gryffin said. “I don’t often get the chance to participate fully, there are parts of my experiences, my identity, which just don’t fit.” After joining a trans dialectical behavior therapy group led by Bert Nash Center therapist Amy Hammer, Gryff

Since 2006, the Bert Nash Center Homeless Outreach Team has been helping some of the most vulnerable among us. “We’re just trying to help people, and it’s a privilege when they will actually let you come into their lives,” said Kelly Martin, a member of the Bert Nash Center Homeless Outreach Team. “They are just people who trying to do their best to get by.” The Bert Nash Center Homeless Outreach Team is funded through a partnership with the city of Lawrence and works with th

YOU created opportunities to ensure quality mental health care remains available for our community members. You made it possible for us to expand our hours and add 33 new positions to keep pace with the increasing demand for mental health care. You made it possible for us to offer summer psychosocial camp for 19 children; you assisted us in helping 32 individuals secure and maintain meaningful employment; and you helped us serve 161 individuals and 22 families who experience

Thank you to Meritrust Credit Union for partnering with the Bert Nash Center to host a Winter Clothing Drive! New or gently used winter clothing are needed to benefit the Bert Nash Center Homeless Outreach team’s efforts to support those who are unhoused in Douglas County. Donations can be dropped off starting November 1st through December 17th between 9:00a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at either Meritrust Credit Union or the Bert Nash Center.

Dr. George Thompson has been an active participant in the planning for the new Treatment and Recovery Center (TRC). Now he is the TRC’s first medical director. Thompson began his duties November 1st. Construction of the facility is expected to be completed in spring 2022. “It’s very exciting to be part of something where there’s a clear vision and collaboration like there has been with this project,” Thompson said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to work with so many wonde

In June 2020, days after the murder of George Floyd, Bert Nash Center CEO Patrick Schmitz issued a statement on behalf of the organization in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Part of the statement included a commitment by the Center’s Executive Team to “undertake the important work of evaluating how implicit and unconscious bias are at work within our organization. This is a combination of personal work and organizational work, which we are committed to doing.” In

Note: September is Suicide Awareness Prevention Month. Anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or (785) 841-2345. You can also get connected to the Crisis Text Line by texting KANSAS to 741 741. Erica Hill will never forget the phone call from her good friend Caroline Ndwaru. “It’s seared in my brain,” Erica said. “I was in a meeting, and I called her right back. She said, Michelle is gone. I said, what

Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center is excited to be a recipient of a $1.967 million Discretionary Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Community Mental Health Center Grant Program. “We are beyond grateful for this opportunity and what it affords for not only the Center and our staff, but for our community and the people we are privileged to serve,” said Bert Nash Center CEO Patrick Schmitz. Funding from the award will provide

Note: September is Suicide Awareness Prevention Month. Anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or (785) 841-2345. You can also get connected to the Crisis Text Line by texting KANSAS to 741 741. Tony Sands spent his football career running away from opposing players. But he couldn’t run away from himself. Football was his identity. But once his playing days were over, Tony, the second all-time leading r

Note: September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or (785) 841-2345. You can also get connected to the Crisis Text Line by texting KANSAS to 741 741. Jordan Ott came into his dad’s bedroom. It was 3 in the morning. “Mom keeps calling,” Jordan told his dad, Elwood. “She’s crying.” When Elwood called his ex-wife, she told him the news. Their son, Isaiah, had ki

When the client’s sister died, she wanted to join her. She didn’t want to live anymore. “Bert Nash pulled me out of it,” the client said. “I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for Bert Nash.” The client started coming to the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center when she moved to Lawrence. “My kids moved to Lawrence, so I came here,” she said. The client was in her 40s when she started attending classes at the University of Kansas. She is 63 now. “I couldn’t handle it,” she sa

With the start of the school year, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize rt of the school year, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaborat

Terrence first came to the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center when he was 10. He’s 32 now. Not only has it been a 22-year journey in time, but it has also been a mental health journey. And it hasn’t always been easy. He has had his share of bumps along the way. But he has had plenty of successes as well. “Bert Nash has been very good for me,” said Terrence, who is part of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe. “It really does help.” One of those who has helped Terrence is Bert Nas

With the start of the school year, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize rt of the school year, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaborat

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of the school year, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psychol

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc