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Torrington Family Service Center aids residents in need

The Register Citizen - 6/25/2022

Jun. 25—Torrington — During the COVID-19 pandemic, agencies like Catholic Charities'Torrington Family Service Center did their best to keep in touch with clients.

Using Zoom, Microsoft Teams or gotomeeting, many businesses and organizations set up an online community for meetings and classes, joining thousands of other organizations and employers that turned to digital technology to bridge the gap of isolation and communication, and to keep things running.

But it's been slow getting people back in person. And the team at Catholic Charities'Torrington office want people to know that they are there for anyone and everyone seeking help with their mental health. And you don't have to be Catholic, either.

At the front desk, Susan Lurvey is a client care specialist and administrator; the office manager is Diane Blackwood. Lurvey greets visitors with a friendly "hello" after buzzing them in through the front door.

"If someone walks in asking for help, I talk to them first," Lurvey said. "Do you have insurance? Do you have a safe place to live? How do you get to work? If they're in an abusive relationship, I have them talk to a counselor about getting out if it. We have a book of resources to find what else they might need.

"If they're homeless, they have to call 211," she said. "The process to get help can take so long; there are moms with kids, and I've found men have a harder time going through it. It's frustrating that we can't do more."

What the agency does do is administer therapy to help heal a person's mind and body.

Challenges

"We provide many different therapies for our clients, from individual for adults and children, to group therapy," said Sandra Lerzundy-Price, director of clinical services at the Institute for the Hispanic Family and the Torrington Family Service Center. "Our major focus is our clients."

Catholic Charities, according to its website, "is a leader in providing culturally and linguistically competent behavioral health services to adults, children, adolescents, and families across our region. Through individual or group therapy, our clinicians are able to address problems associated with substance abuse, depression, anxiety, anger management, trauma, grief and loss, and other mental health issues."

The agency also has offices in Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury.

Judy Balcezak, supervisor of the Behavioral Health Program, and social worker Robert Erwin, have seen a significant drop in people reaching out for services.

"When we had to shut down, it was pretty dramatic," she said. "We started working from home, and we used Zoom and telehealth. Before COVID-19, we had 250 to 300 clients, but many people don't want to come back in person."

Transportation for appointments has also become more of a problem for people in Torrington as well as Colebrook, Goshen, New Hartford and Barkhamsted, said Erwin.

"It's not always reliable," he said.

The agency is now serving under 130 people.

In spite of the challenges, Lerzundy-Price said the local agency runs numerous programs and offers services to those communities.

"Catholic Charities has run community and residential programs, behavioral health clinics, outpatient groups and family therapy groups for many years," she said. "We work with families with mental health needs."

"Bob (Erwin) and I also run family violence programs, so if someone's arrested, they go to classes for anger management," said Balcezak. "We are involved in that."

Crime victim advocacy

The team also includes Sandra Raver, a caseworker for the VOCA program, or Victims of Crime Act. She divides her time between Torrington and Waterbury.

"In my role, I'm an advocate for any victim of a crime, because they're entitled to free clinical and group therapy assistance, and I help them get those services," she said. "Anyone who's a victim of sexual or domestic violence, a homicide, a robbery — in the last year the cases have been primarily domestic violence victims. Under VOCA case management, I can help them navigate the legal system until they go to court. We keep track of their attacker, and notify them of any changes to the inmate's status once they're in jail."

Victims can also apply for compensation in some cases, she said.

"It's an ongoing process. There's lost wages and medical bills a victim might be dealing with," Raver said. "If a person was injured, they can apply for lots of therapies."

The VOCA program is something many people don't know about, and therefore don't know what kind of compensation they may be entitled to, Raver said.

"If someone is killed in a person's home, VOCA helps with funeral expenses, and provides services for any problems, like PTSD, that might occur," she said.

Feeling safe

For Raver, Balcezak and Erwin, working with people today shows the emotional and social impacts of the pandemic on a large scale.

"We did a lot on Zoom, and people got used to it, but isolation, after a while, is a comfort zone," Raver said. "When you're out sick for a week, going back to work feels weird, so after being out for months and months, it's even weirder.

"We will do virtual meetings, but we really want people to come here in person," she said. "I think some people are still very afraid of the virus. This past weekend, I saw more people wearing masks than I'd seen in a while."

The isolation and fear affect those with a disability and older, retired people, she said.

"Housing is in crisis, so people are either looking for a place to stay or staying inside," she said. "It's harder to go out on a regular basis, so it's harder for them to emerge back into the world."

More programs being added

As the team rebuilds their client connections in the community, new programs are being added. A new outpatient group on mental health and substance abuse begins at 9:30 a.m. on July 5, and a social skills group for teens is also being offered this year.

"We are working with the state to serve more youth, because it's really needed," Balcezak said. "As always, the hardest part of making it work is transportation. We need a grant for a van."

Financially, the nonprofit agency is spread quite thin, team members said.

"It's very important for us to find and create new resources," said Lerzundy-Price. "We apply for funding, for grants, but it goes very quickly. We always welcome donations."

For information on the Torrington Family Service Center, 132 Grove St., Torrington, go to https://www.ccaoh.org/how-we-help/behavioral-health/ or call 860-493-1841.

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