West County Community Services

Wccs manages an emergency rental assistance program (erap) focused on paying utility and rental assistance for sonoma County residents unable to make payments, or landlords unable to receive rent due to covid-19. Erap funds come to sonoma County from the state of California and wccs is one of 10 sonoma County non-profits managing these funds.

Wccs works with the County of sonoma department of health Services behavioral health division (dhs-bhd) to operate a Community center and to provide support Services under several programs funded by a federal block grant for Community mental health services.the wellness and advocacy center (the center) works with dhs-bhd, peers, and family organizations to develop and support a wellness, recovery, and support center for peers facing serious mental health challenges. The center has been fully planned, developed and operated by consumers embracing a wellness mindset that fosters hope and recovery for everyone. Self-help and peer-run programs have been developed for educational forums, computer training, employment readiness and job search classes, peer advocacy training, arts and craft classes, peer-led self-help/support groups, volunteer opportunities, paid peer support specialist internships, and daytime socialization/recreational activities.based on a philosophy of peer empowerment, interlink self help center provides a centralized location where persons with psychiatric disabilities receive individual and group peer support; linkage to vocational, housing, medical, and social Services; receive training in peer support; participate in an intern training program; and engage in social and recreational activities. Interlink is staffed and managed by persons with psychiatric disabilities. As a result, it offers a concrete example of self-direction, success, and hope to persons with psychiatric disabilities, their family members, mental health professionals, and the community.the petaluma peer recovery center (pprc) is a peer run and managed program dedicated to empowering the local mental health Community through peer support and education. Pprc sponsors lectures, groups, workshops, and activities as needed by the target population of adult mental health consumers over the age of 18, specifically those who are diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness. The pprc works closely with the dhs-bhd Community mental health center in petaluma, ca, to ensure mental health peers with severe and persistent mental illness are able to benefit from the pprc.the peer education and training (pet) program provides workforce development opportunities with a peer perspective to support system transformation and a recovery vision that is consumer-driven and holistic in its Services and supports. The pet program collaborates with the Community to create awareness of opportunities for involvement in transformation activities to increase knowledge of, and participation in the development and provision of mental health Services. Additionally, the program recruits, engages, supervises and supports consumers as volunteers and interns in mental health agencies and organizations. The pet program provides education, employment, promotion of mental health system transformation through peer participation in quality improvement activities, and expanding awareness of mental health recovery to all segments of the mental health Community.

Wccs operates a year round, 24/7 homeless shelter and covid navigation site in guerneville, ca, funded by the emergency solutions grant program. There are 35 beds available to those in need. Supportive Services are offered to residents including: medical, social Services, and housing assistance support.housing Services provides housing and supportive assistance to low-income, disabled and homeless individuals and families. Services include permanent supportive housing through master leasing property, making it available to qualified individuals and managing other affordable-housing developments throughout the area. These include housing to 8 chronically homeless adults with disabilities, supportive programs for residents of 44 apartments and town homes clustered around common facilities on petaluma avenue in sebastopol and a 47-unit development in guerneville. We manage the properties, offer support Services with individual case plans for residents in need of social and conflict management skills, employment, medical attention, food, financial guidance, and other resources to help them maintain stable housing and to improve their well-being.

The russian river empowerment center in monte rio is a peer-operated, self-help drop-in center for people who identify as having mental health challenges. The center offers various groups, field trips, workshops, volunteer opportunities and resource referrals.mental health counseling & prevention programs: wccs counseling and prevention programs span all ages and a variety of Community needs. We offer school-based programs designed to help at-risk youth deal with substance abuse and mental health challenges. We provide mental health counselors to school districts all over West County. We organize Community coalitions to address serious issues like underage drinking, substance abuse, and juvenile delinquency. We partner with multiple County agencies to provide intervention programs for youth who need support on their path to adulthood. We operate a "best-practice" consumer-run and consumer-designed mental health drop-in center for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness.senior peer counseling: supervised volunteer peer counselors provide weekly in-home support to fellow seniors with a focus on the challenges of aging, grief, and the use of Community resources. Senior peer counseling Services for individuals and groups are offered throughout sonoma county.all other programs: wccs provides a variety of other programs designed to serve West sonoma County.