Feeling Overwhelmed? NVFS Offers Online Support, Counseling

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Between the upcoming election, the coronavirus pandemic, and the challenge of balancing work, childcare and virtual schooling, Northern Virginia families have a lot on their plates right.

Fortunately, individuals who are feeling overwhelmed can reach out to Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) to receive the help and support they may need during these trying times.

Bianca Añez, is a counselor at NVFS, where she helps provide mental health services to women who are postpartum. Many of the people she works with are from immigrant households, with family members deemed essential employees because they work in the service industry.

"They face many barriers to getting the mental health care that they need, like lack of health care," she said. " In some cases, the language can be a barrier or not knowing the system. They cannot really take a break. They don't have the privilege of working remotely, because now they are essential workers, so they still have to find odd jobs here and there. They still have to do the grocery shopping delivery, takeout, construction, and cleaning houses. They're in that constant risk of being exposed to COVID-19."

In addition, many of these individuals live in multifamily or multigenerational households, making it difficult to take proper social distancing precautions.

"What is healthy right now with these populations is the fact that they're resilient," Añez said. "Being resilient is a survival skill that they have. They don't have any other options. Something else that has been healthy is being hopeful about the future that something good might come and staying connected with their community. That's actually what's been helping the most."

But even people with support from their family and community may experience times of stress that can seem overwhelming. Añez said it's important for a person to seek help when they need it.

"Each case is different, but mainly, when all of the self-care activities that they're already doing, all the coping strategies that they already know, they're not working, that's when they need to reach out," she said. "Let's say there are excessive episodes of anxiety or excessive crying spells or hopelessness, which is the most lethal one. When people get to the point that nothing else is working, when they're feeling isolated, that's when they need to reach out."

When the pandemic hit, Truist, the sixth largest bank in the U.S., established Truist Cares, a COVID-19 relief initiative that dedicated $50 million to support communities in a number of key areas, including mental health.

"One of the areas we really wanted to have an impact was in continuing to be able to provide mental health services to those folks who are vulnerable and really needed it, and are in a situation where they just can't walk into a clinic and can't find it in the normal course," said Evelyn Lee, regional president at Truist. "So, helping to support Northern Virginia Family Service with the shift online was sort of a natural fit for us.

To that end, Truist donated $25,000 to help NVFS secure a HIPAA-compliant tele–mental health platform, which it launched in the late spring. NVFS is now providing a variety of its core services online, including counseling for homeless youth, immigrant cases, and survivors of trauma.

"Being able to have those sessions, although we're not in person, it brings a lot of comfort to the client," Añez said. "It means to them that we haven't abandoned them, that we can continue. Although the world has changed, there is this thing that hasn't changed. They still receive mental health support from us. And of course, that's also thanks to Truist that we're able to continue with our mission. It has changed a little bit how we do it, but we have been able to reinvent ourselves.

Anyone looking for mental health support can find it by calling the NVFS at 571-748- 2500 or visiting the NVFS website.