Jeraldine's Story

My name is Jeraldine, and I was recently discharged from the mental health track at the Cohen Family Wellness Center. I am really proud to reach this milestone.

About a year ago, I was struggling. I’d get excluded a lot at school. I wasn’t super good with my grades. At home, I was usually in charge of everything. My mom was working a lot, and I’d get in trouble because she’d come home from work tired and stressed.

Eventually, I told my mom that I was really depressed. She took me to my pediatrician to get help, and they sent me to the hospital. The hospital referred me to the Bridge to Hope program.

In the beginning, I just wanted to get out of there. But it grew on me. I really liked my therapist, Rashel. She was really sweet. She always tried to help me, and we did fun activities together. I was glad she would update my mom so she knew what was going on, and then we could get along better, too. Rashel also helped me find coping mechanisms that worked for me personally. She helped me become more into art, which I love, and to use it as a coping mechanism when I was feeling depressed.

I was also glad that my therapist connected me to the Health Home Program. I liked meeting up with my resource coordinator, Francedid Banol, who helped us with so many things. Once, in the winter, she helped me get clothes for the season—stuff like that.

I was stepped down from the Bridge to Hope program to less intensive services last September because of the progress I made. And I was discharged entirely last month.

Now that I look back on a year of therapy, I can see how much it helped me grow. I grew as a person, and I grew stronger and more hopeful, just like the name of the program says. Looking back is actually helping me move forward, something I couldn’t imagine before. I’m working to do better in school, help my mom more, and be a better example for my nine-year-old brother. My most important goal is not to fall back into feeling the way I did before. I know I’m being discharged because my therapist has confidence in me—and when I think about that, it gives me confidence, too. I’m about to start high school. I applied and was accepted to an arts high school, which I’m very excited about. I’m going to be in the fashion program at the school, which is great, because I want to pursue fashion as a career. 

I think a lot of people don’t want to accept help at first. I know I didn’t. I think it’s because I didn’t think it would help anyway. Now I know how much it can help.

If you're scared to ask for help like I was, just know it really can change things. I'm still figuring things out, but now I believe I can.