Hello Collaborative Members!

Thank you so much for participating in last week's School-Based Mental Health Collaborative.

The Wellness in Schools Program appreciates your attendance and contributions.

We extend a huge thank you to our presenters:

Carmella Kowall, Executive Director, Winter Nights Family Shelter

Kaitlyn Coughran, Volunteer & Training Manager, Contra Costa Crisis Center

and

Mike Callahan, Program Manager, and

Alexander Martinez, Program Coordinator, C.O.R.E.

We truly appreciate

If you didn't have a chance, please help us prepare for our next collaborative meeting on January 23rd, 2025 by completing our feedback survey:

Feedback Survey

Winter Nights Family Shelter

Winter Family Nights protects homeless families by providing shelter in clean, safe, and warm environments, and help them break the cycle of homelessness by assisting them toward

self-sufficiency and into stable housing.

Please visit their website to learn more about their wrap-around services and personalized care they provide to families and the impact they are having.

Winter Nights Family Shelter

C.O.R.E. Outreach

The Coordinated Outreach Referral, Engagement (C.O.R.E.) program works to engage and stabilize homeless individuals living outside through consistent outreach to facilitate and/or deliver health and basic need services and secure permanent housing.

C.O.R.E. teams serve as an entry point into Contra Costa's coordinated entry system for unsheltered persons and work to locate, engage, stabilize and house chronically homeless individuals and families. The outreach teams identify individuals living on the streets, assess their housing and service needs,

and facilitate connection to shelter and services.



Contra Costa Shelter List 2024

C.O.R.E. Outreach

Contra Costa Crisis Center- 211

Through 211, homeless individuals and families are referred to shelter, daytime drop-in care centers, the C.O.R.E. homeless outreach team, emergency food, job training, healthcare, mental health counseling, transportation, substance abuse treatment, and other services.

Call 211 or text HOPE to 20121 to be connected to services.

Additional Foster & Unhoused Youth Resources

Contra Costa County C.A.S.A.

(Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children)

Therapy Project California matches volunteer

clinical psychologists and therapists licensed in California with:

• Youth in foster care 12 and older 
• Those who were formerly in foster care

The free teletherapy program offers unique benefits:

• There is no limit to the number of sessions.
• We take confidentiality seriously and only share clients’ basic referral information with the therapist. Clients can talk about what they want to talk about, when they want to talk about it.
• Teletherapy removes the need for transportation to a therapist’s office and therapy continues with the same therapist, no matter how often, or where, they move within California.
• We offer an incentive program. After 3 visits clients receive a $50 Visa gift card and after 10 sessions, an additional $100 Visa gift card. This incentive is our way of thanking the client for attend teletherapy weekly.
• This program provides sessions by volunteer therapists for clients whose symptoms would benefit from weekly teletherapy. It does not provide crisis intervention, emergency service, intensive outpatient services, family therapy, or complex case management.

Client Referral Form



The Wellness in Schools Program Resources

The Wellness in Schools Program Website

The WISP Activities and Resource Hub

Please visit the WISP website for WISP Liaisons contact information, upcoming training dates, previous newsletters, and to learn more about our services.

For announcements, comments, or questions, please reach out to the WISP Team at wisp@cccoe.k12.ca.us

We look forward to seeing you at our next Collaborative meeting on January 23, 2025!

Register for the January 23rd, 2025 meeting here!