Personal Story: Choosing Gratitude
This is a quote printed on a piece of wood with a worn image of a sunset shimmering off the water that is hanging on my office wall. Daily, this simple little square reminds me to slow down and not wish away the days…
PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT: Teresa Ritzinger
Teresa is an invaluable member of our organization, and we feel truly fortunate to have her on our team. With a focus on supporting women, Teresa’s nurturing and compassionate spirit make her an exceptional provider and an inspiring person…
PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT: Courtney Struchen
Courtney is one of our more experienced providers. In addition to being a cool, interesting human, she is a role model for seeing the whole person and supporting without ego. Lucky for us, she is always willing to share her peer support wisdom with our team. Here is some more about Courtney in her own words:
Just Me, My ADHD and the Stimulant Shortage Impacting Our Communities
Just over a year ago, at age 39, I was diagnosed with ADHD.
While I have seen many mental health professionals and medical doctors over the years, no one had ever once mentioned the possibility of me having ADHD. Truthfully the idea had never even occurred to me until the TikTok algorithm started slipping in videos about ADHD between funny animals and social justice stuff.
PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT: Ayja Burg
Ayja has been providing peer support for over a year, but she has an easygoing demeanor and warm sense of humor that makes me suspect she’s been a natural support person her whole life...
How Homelessness Has Impacted My Mental Health
The first impactful experience I had with homelessness was at 13. I wasn’t fully aware of how or why I was in this situation or what it truly meant, but I knew I didn’t feel like myself. Positive there was something wrong with me, I poured over a copy of the DSM-IV hoping to self-diagnose. If I could find the problem with me, I thought, I could fix it and be happy again.
Thoughts Regarding the Eau Claire Day Resource Center
But lately, questions from our team and community members regarding how I feel about the Day Resource Center have become more frequent. It keeps popping up in unexpected meetings, conversations, and seemingly unrelated spaces so I decided to listen to nudges and learn more about it.
This led me to attend the Day Resource Center Community Meeting on June 18th…
Ending the Stigma: Why the Words We Use Matter
I recently had to take a trip to the emergency room for some concerning symptoms following a major surgery. It turned out to be…
Dose of Reality Roundtable - ATR Director Response
My hope is that sharing this letter can help keep the conversation going or maybe spark some new ones. I hope everyone who reads this will feel their hearts soften a bit towards those who have struggled and maybe they’ll even choose to learn more, get involved, and help save some lives.
Life Lessons from Disc Golf
Disc golf is hands down one of my favorite sports. It’s something you don’t really need to be that great at to get the full enjoyment out of it. And it’s relatively inexpensive. You can play with friends or alone. And more and more courses are popping up around the area. The other day I was out playing a round and several analogies started to hit me all at once. Life lessons I’ve learned from disc golf: