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What's Happening MoCo?
An authentic, unscripted update from County Cable Montgomery highlighting items that help residents of Montgomery County. This program features interviews with elected officials, employees, public servants, and residents. It is produced by the Office of Community Engagement from the Department of Technology and Enterprise Business Services. Interviews are recorded live and presented with very few edits to ensure the integrity and authenticity of the conversations.
What's Happening MoCo?
What's Happening with Suicide Prevention, Awareness, and resources in the County?
The semicolon tattoo on Alnicia Gibson's wrist tells a powerful story - it represents choosing to continue when she could have ended her life. As chair of Montgomery County's Out of the Darkness Community Walk, Gibson transforms her lived experience into action, rallying the community against a crisis that ranks as the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15-24 in Maryland.
This eye-opening conversation reveals the devastating prevalence of suicide in our communities while highlighting Montgomery County's comprehensive response system. Manuel Calero, a therapist with 25 years of experience at the Montgomery County Crisis Center, explains their revolutionary approach to mental health emergencies - a free, 24/7 service that functions like "an ER for people having emotional issues."
The episode concludes with Rosalyn Houston from the Montgomery County Volunteer Center highlighting their upcoming "Fall into Service" event, offering a reminder that community connection serves as a powerful antidote to isolation and mental health struggles. Whether you're personally affected by suicide or simply want to support those who are, this episode provides concrete resources, upcoming events, and hope-filled perspectives for anyone navigating these difficult waters.
Join the Montgomery County Out of the Darkness Community Walk on September 21st at the Adventist Healthcare Soccerplex in Boyds, MD. Registration begins at 9am, with the walk starting at 10am. Your presence matters in bringing this critical issue out of the shadows and into the light.
What Good day and welcome to what's Happening MoCo, an authentic unscripted podcast from your Montgomery County government. Now here's your host, derrick Kenney.
Speaker 2:Good day. Welcome to what's Happening MoCo. Today we have a serious subject death by suicide, something that happens far too often in our society, our world and here in Montgomery County. Today to talk about suicide or the prevention of suicide and awareness thereof, is Alnicia Gibson, and she's here to talk about her Montgomery County walk that's hoping to gain some traction around people being concerned, aware and active in preventing death by suicide. Alnisha, how are you today?
Speaker 3:I'm good. How about yourself?
Speaker 2:I'm pretty good. I'm pretty good. It was a wonderful summer. I guess we're still technically in summer, exactly Supposed to be Okay. How was your summer?
Speaker 3:It was hot. Yeah, it was very hot. I don't like the heat.
Speaker 2:How about today? Today was a nice day.
Speaker 3:It's okay, it's okay, all right, okay.
Speaker 2:Well, I like the days like today, where it's nice and cool.
Speaker 4:Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2:I can wear a long sleeve jacket type shirt and.
Speaker 3:I'm not sweating too much, but give me a couple of minutes, I can make it happen, it's okay, now.
Speaker 2:OK, now, speaking of which you have this walk.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:This walk coming up and what's the name of the walk and how long have you been doing this walk?
Speaker 3:OK, the name of the walk is the Montgomery County Out of the Darkness Community Walk and it's sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. And actually I walked here this year year before I was the co-chair and, like six years ago, I was a walk chair as well, so I've been doing it for quite a long time, but it's my passion, so I'm excited to do it.
Speaker 2:And why is it your passion?
Speaker 3:Because actually I attempted suicide as well. So I'm very transparent about it, you know. That's why I connect with them. Can the camera see? I want to show my little semicolon.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, Please show your semicolon.
Speaker 3:If you see this this is if you've attempted. You try to put a period in your life, but you have a comma because you're supposed to continue with your life.
Speaker 2:So you're not only supporting this march, you are someone that was directly affected exactly um death by suicide. But instead of having a period, you have a comma yes, and so, with your life going on, you're, you're adding to other people's lives exactly, and helping to prolong other people's lives that's your good work is chair and co-chair and all the other things you're doing. So where, where is your march taking place and when is it taking place?
Speaker 3:okay, it's taking's taking place on Sunday, September 21st. It starts at nine. That's registration. Registration starts at nine and 10 o'clock. The walk starts and it's at the Adventist Healthcare Soccer Complex. It's so long in Boyd's Maryland.
Speaker 2:Boyd's, Maryland. Yeah, so we're very excited. I just want to say that one more time.
Speaker 3:Adventist Healthcare Soccerplex in Boyd's Maryland. All time At Venice Healthcare Soccerplex in.
Speaker 2:Boyds, maryland. All right, and that's September 21st, 9 o'clock am for registration, 10 o'clock 10 o'clock walking.
Speaker 3:Okay, 10 o'clock to start walking.
Speaker 2:Is there any cost or anything of that nature. It's free, just show up. I will say I love it when it's free. So round of applause here. When you can come show up, show your support and you and your family or anyone that's been affected or concerned about death by suicide, I encourage you to show up and show your support. What are some of the stats surrounding death by suicide that we should be aware of?
Speaker 3:Well, Maryland is the 15th leading cause of death by suicide. Whoa Third leading cause is 15 to 24. Third leading cause is from 25 to 34.
Speaker 2:Whoa, I'm sorry. The third leading cause amongst young people 15 to 24 so overall 15th cause of death in the county, but among people 15 to 24 and 34 is the third whoa, that's.
Speaker 3:That's significant very true and um, it's 25 to 34 for the third leading and it's 35 to 44 for the fifth leading oh wow, why do you?
Speaker 2:why do you think that is there? Are there any things that people um tend to in those age ranges? Why? Why is there? Why the rate's higher than the overall rate?
Speaker 3:well, I think for 15 to 22, you of, of course, have a lot of bullying and during that age they're like transitioning from, you know, teenager to being a young adult. So I think that's a lot of pressure on them as well and they might not lead up to, you know, certain people's expectations. So I think in that age range that's why it's the third leading cause All right, wow.
Speaker 2:So people out there, they want to gain more information about your march, they want to contact you for more information about how to contribute or whatever. Is there a website or a phone number they can call?
Speaker 3:Yes, I'm not giving my personal number. I love y'all. Okay, but hold on.
Speaker 2:If you want to unleash this personal number, dial 202.
Speaker 3:No it's AFSPorg Montgomery CO. Okay, afsporg slash Montgomery CO.
Speaker 2:Okay, and this happens once a year. Correct Different locations though Different locations. Okay, and are there other things throughout the year that you support or that people might want to gravitate towards when it comes to education or support for, or awareness of, death by suicide Right?
Speaker 3:Excuse me, the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention have so many initiatives in place as far as research and helping people that's lost someone or to prevent suicide. They have a lot of programs out. They advocate for public policy, but the main thing is for the out of the darkness walks is they pour the money into the community, so they offer free educational classes, free assistance. So it's a good you know and bringing the darkness. That's the call to light.
Speaker 2:Bringing the darkness to light. That's all right, and that's what's happening in MoCo. Alnecia Gibson, thank you so much for being here, and for leading the charge or leading the march against death by suicide here in Montgomery County, maryland. Up next, we'll be talking about county resources and awareness of death by suicide. Hang on what? All right, and we are back with Manuel Calero. That's Calero.
Speaker 3:Calero, calero, okay cool.
Speaker 2:I made it a little bit more expressive than it needed to be. He's a therapist with HHS and his specialty is death by suicide. Manuel, thank you for joining the podcast today and for helping us further the conversation about death by suicide awareness and offering resources. What can you tell us about your job as a therapist for the county?
Speaker 4:Well, I'm a therapist at the Montgomery County Crisis Center.
Speaker 4:I've been there about 25 years now. It's basically a think of it like a walk in ER for people that are having either emotional or mental health issues. So it's free of cost. You walk in there, you can talk to a licensed clinician no charge. You can walk in, you can call on the phone. We have mobile crisis response as well, too, where we go out to the community and provide the same type of service that you would have in the office. We have it like at your house or in the community as well too.
Speaker 4:A lot of times we work in tandem with the police department as well too. We have another aspect of our job where, unfortunately, if there is a tragedy in the community or a completed suicide, obviously law enforcement is a typical first responder. So our role is to go out and provide support and comfort as much as we can to the family during that immediate loss that they're having at that time.
Speaker 2:It's great that there's a lot of thought put into how to respond to these tragic situations.
Speaker 4:Yeah, definitely, yeah, I know, like I said, I've been there for a long time I mean I think I could be wrong, but I would say it's probably been around for about 40, probably 40 plus years 40 plus years.
Speaker 2:40 plus years yeah, definitely. Yeah, you mentioned the crisis center earlier. How do people find the crisis center and is there a website?
Speaker 4:So I'll give you the direct address on the phone number. It's 1301 Picard Drive. It's in Rockville, 20850. And the phone number is 240-777-4000.
Speaker 1:Real simple.
Speaker 4:Once again 240-777-4000. Real simple. Once again 240-777-4000, open 24 hours a day. We do have the ability to use language line. I myself speak spanish, so I'm bilingual. We have other um other staff that speak other languages as well too, so it really is um you know, not going to discriminate. I mean, whatever language you speak, we can probably accommodate you in some way so, just to be clear, someone's having a tough time.
Speaker 2:They remember that they saw on the what's Happening with MoCo podcast that the crisis center is open 24-7. They can drive in their car, hop on a bus, get an Uber left and come to the crisis center. The door will be open or they'll ring a bell.
Speaker 4:They'll ring a doorbell and then we'll let them in. And then the first thing we'll ask them how we can help them we in. And then the first thing we'll ask them why how we can would help them. Um, we'll have them fill out some real quick demographic information. If, if they don't obviously of course, if they don't want to, they don't need to we can just take them directly to the back, depending on the severity of the crisis, and we'll address the issue at hand immediately so they'll have a licensed clinician that they're going to meet with on the spot.
Speaker 4:I know a lot of times people have either private insurance or you know it takes a long time to get on a waiting list to actually see somebody. So we're more doing like safety assessments, so more in the crisis mode. So obviously we don't do anything ongoing long term. It's very short term, but at 2 am, if you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, um, yeah, and you remember this podcast, definitely come down, give us a call. Um, you know we can try to help you facilitate getting getting transportation as well too. So we go above and beyond whatever it is that we that we can do for the community, what we'll do it and what's the phone?
Speaker 2:number 240-777-4000 is there another crisis, a number to call as well? Is there a number? There's a montgomery county there's a hotline as well too.
Speaker 4:So it's not, it's my, it's banned, it's um manned by a nonprofit organization, Every Mind. That's a different number.
Speaker 2:And we'll. We'll add that in here later. Right there, All right, excellent Power of video. So if you guys are listening to the podcast and you want that number, check out the video video version. So it's great that you guys are providing the service at the center. What else are you doing to help raise awareness for people that are concerned about death by suicide?
Speaker 4:Well, again, it's a 20-hour center so anybody can come anytime.
Speaker 4:We work in tandem with MCPS, so Montgomery County Public Schools, so a lot of times there's a protocol in Montgomery County Public Schools where, say, a student might mention that they want to harm themselves.
Speaker 4:So the protocol at the school would be you know the school, the administrators notify the parents, bring the parents into the school, um counselor addresses the issue at school and then refers them to our center. So we do see a lot of school, what we would call school referral. So a lot of times it's I think there's more awareness nowadays going on in the times that we live in, with so many people having attempted or actually committed suicide, um, so I think that's a great service that mcps provides for individuals as well too, and the parents as well too, because a lot of times you know students as, as our previous guest said earlier, you know that that age range among teens and young adults is a high prevalence really people attempting or you know, thinking about it, you know having the ideations and thoughts and then kind of getting it extended to actually doing something about it. So yeah, I think it's a good service that's provided and then we see them and we address the issue at hand.
Speaker 2:And you mentioned self-harm as maybe an indicator of concern. Could you talk a little bit about what is self-harm, but then also talk about what are some of the other red flags that might raise an alarm amongst people that are either those individuals themselves or people that love those people?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So I would say, with self-harming, that'd be probably another podcast. But I would say, first and foremost, a lot of people that say, think about self-hharm. We're actually engaging in self-harm, sometimes with people that are actually not wanting to actually kill themselves per se right. A lot of times people might use that as a coping mechanism right. And then our job, maybe a therapist, would be to kind of find other coping skills that they can use instead of, say, self-harming or cutting or you know, we see different levels of self-harm as well too.
Speaker 4:So not everybody that engages in self-harm. We're not going to identify them as they wanted to commit suicide or harm themselves. Again, you have a lot of and we see it a lot with teens right, a lot of teens will come in with scratches or cut marks. So I think just identifying it is a good thing as well too. And then if we can try to intervene with other coping skills so a lot of times they might be using it as a coping skill um, you know, if we can substitute that with something else, maybe talking to the counselor or talking to the parents, or maybe even identifying that now the parents have identified that their kid has an issue or is doing, is it's engaging a self-harm, that might be it right, that might be all the person needs that feel supported now by the parent.
Speaker 4:It's a lot of times that times the eye opener for a lot of parents that come in and they're noticing that their daughter or son hasn't been engaging in this for quite some time, and they weren't even aware of it until the school brought it to their attention. A lot of times it helps, like it's an eye opener for a lot of parents as well too.
Speaker 2:And what are some of the other indicators?
Speaker 4:I'd say, you know, I guess different age ranges, as far as you know, maybe teens, adults, have different ways of it manifesting itself, but we see a lot of just people feeling hopeless, right, just people feeling emotionally, mentally, physically drained, um, you know, a lot of times just feeling like at the end of your rope. Um, you know, a lot of times, if you're involved in that and you have these prolonged thoughts for a long period of time, sometimes that just just consumes you and the more in your you're in those thoughts and those feelings, obviously sometimes it might lead to you having or experience some types of you know, having some suicidal ideations.
Speaker 4:You know we also look at social withdrawal. Right, if you were kind of isolating yourself or you were someone who was very cheerful and going out a lot with your friends and family and now all of a sudden there's a change in your behavior, you might find yourself more isolating or not enjoying the things that you used to right, you could start developing like a depressive episode and obviously being with those negative thoughts at a prolonged period of time you know might lead you to develop these suicidal thoughts. So again, I would say everyone is different. The beauty of this job is that you get to meet so many different people.
Speaker 4:You know what works for some person might not work for others. What might be a red flag for one individual it's probably not a red flag for the other one. But you know, in my experience as a clinician kind of you know the helplessness, the worth feeling, worthlessness, helplessness. You know that the social withdrawal and just a change in behavior sometimes we see as red flags. But obviously you know there's different red flags for different people as well too what have you, have you encountered or what do you say when you encounter?
Speaker 2:um people who are reluctant to seek help because they're not sure, because it could be embarrassing for the family of? Course the individual may create conflict between family members. What do you say to people that are, I believe, my loved one is looking to harm themselves or to take their lives away? What do you say to that person to encourage them to either step forward or how to moderate their approach, or what's this sure you know? What do you do? What do you say?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so. So I mean, obviously there's there's stigma, right. I think there's a lot of stigma with mental health and me, being Hispanic, I know in our culture, and I know in other minority cultures as well too, the fact of mental health in general is seen as taboo, right, or see if there's a big stigma attached to it. So I think a lot of awareness and education, either for the family that might have somebody who's contemplating it or actually engaging in it or thinking about it, letting them know that it's not that you're crazy I know we use that as a loose term, but it's not the appropriate term obviously these people depression or suicide thoughts it's something that hopefully can be treated, hopefully can be addressed. Unfortunately, there are individuals that do end up taking their lives at some point, and we deal with that on an ongoing basis at our job as well too, um, but you know, stigma is one thing um, I think we like to tell people to talk about it right and I know I'm not naive and wanting to believe that if you just talk about it, um, you know it's going to cure all um and it's
Speaker 4:not, and I know it's not but just sometimes letting other people know what you're going through is maybe all that support that you really need at that moment, at that time. You know, a lot of times I think people are fearful to approach somebody and ask that question. I think there's a myth saying you know, if I, if I ask somebody, are they trying to harm themselves? I might put that thought into their head and I would say no, if you, if you really care about the person, if you're that concerned, go ahead and approach the individual. Don't be, don't be in fears, don't be ashamed, don't be fearful. If the person is thinking those thoughts, the thoughts are already there Like nothing that you're going to do is going to make things worse, probably, right.
Speaker 4:You're only going to address it and hopefully maybe that person is going to feel like, okay, now this person really understands what I'm trying to go through. I think a lot of times we just try to validate feelings as well too. I know we get a lot of calls from people all the time saying I'm thinking about harming myself, or they kind of go into their story and I think a lot of times people just want to be heard right and not to have somebody fix them, say, or go to a therapist, and people assume that the therapist is going to fix their problems and of course I can't fix anybody's problems right.
Speaker 4:I can only fix my own right but a lot of times people I think that's, that's, that's like, uh, I guess an obstacle for a lot of people. But I think as a therapist, sometimes you're just there and you can validate. If the person wants to feel depressed, okay, I'll let them feel depressed. If they feel angry, okay, you validate their feelings and a lot of times it's just that having the that's Okay and then you can deal with whatever deeper issues are going on with the individual.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, Wonderful. Now HHS is one of the county's largest departments. Are you within the behavioral health department?
Speaker 4:Yeah, behavioral health and crisis.
Speaker 2:Now, what are some of the other areas that people can benefit from that may be listening to this podcast that does not involve death by suicide, but maybe other issues or dynamics that might benefit from the resources available.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I know there is something called the access team that provides mental health plus substance abuse. So it's kind of like a dual diagnosis clinic. So any individual that has, say, a substance use issue drugs or alcohol, a concurring disorder as well too would say it's associated with a mental health diagnosis as well too. They can access services through that program as well too, and I believe they have walk-in hours as well too.
Speaker 2:So all these services are free, you know, as long as you're a County resident you know, some taking we like free, yeah, exactly, Many times the barrier to getting help for families especially families that are working hard to ensure the best for their families and making hard decisions. We don't want this to be cost, to be a barrier.
Speaker 3:Of course.
Speaker 2:So, it's free to get a lot of help in the county.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so you could get an assessment.
Speaker 2:And then from there.
Speaker 4:They would kind of see, I guess, what kind of level of care you would warrant, right, maybe something ongoing, maybe something more specific? At our center we'd have a psychiatrist as well too. I know the access team has a psychiatrist as well too. So the services are out there. It's just sometimes looking and knowing where to go is the issue and I have another question.
Speaker 2:So when someone seeks your help or makes the phone call, is there a level of confidentiality or you know so that some privacy is there, privacy associated with it, so that families that are concerned about I don't want my business in the street, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and so another thing that we do, I mean families can always call in and request for our team to go out and maybe evaluate their, their loved one as well too. So that's something that we do with the mobile crisis team as well too. So, again, you can either walk in or we can go to you. So I mean, we try to make it as easy as possible to get the service. But as far as the confidentiality, of course, everything is confidential. As far as the phone calls aren't. They're not recorded. So I think a lot of times people are fearful that the you know lines being recorded, anything like that. But no, I mean you come in and again, if we'll sit there on the phone with you as long as need be, uh, to kind of get down to see what it is that you really need, or we'll invite you in um, or we'll go see you. That's always an option as well. That's, that's great.
Speaker 2:That's great they'll come see you.
Speaker 4:It's like uh we'll come see you like the'll come see you Like the Uber Eats of mental health, mental health is fantastic, and sometimes that makes a difference.
Speaker 2:Definitely Because sometimes, if someone is, they're just stuck.
Speaker 4:And you see them in their element. You see them in their element at home and kind of you get a better picture as a clinician. You get to see what else is going on in their life as far as how they live and how they're adapting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, yeah, definitely. All right, excellent, excellent. Now one more time what's the address of the location, the hours, of course, the cost, and what's the phone number?
Speaker 4:So the address is going to be 1301 Picard Drive. That's P-I-C-C-A-R-D Drive, Rockville, Maryland, 20850. It's free service and the phone number is going to be 240-777-4000.
Speaker 2:All right, all right, so thank you so much for being here today. And thank you to everyone over there in behavioral health for HHS, a good friend of ours on the what's Happening MoCo podcast just recently had a vigil. Was it a vigil against to raise awareness about overdose?
Speaker 4:Overdose. I had one up here in the plaza. Yeah, powerful event, powerful event. Purple everywhere. Yes, big Everybody up here in the plaza. Yeah, powerful event, powerful event.
Speaker 2:Purple everywhere. Big G from Backyard Band was there to help moderate, get the community involved. So continue to do all the great work you do, you and Ben and the whole Behavioral Health Department.
Speaker 4:Appreciate it. Thanks a lot, thanks for being here. Of course, appreciate it.
Speaker 2:And up next we talk to the people that get, the people that help the people of Montgomery County, maryland, the Montgomery County Volunteer Center. They have something they want you to be aware of that you can help and learn more about. And we're back with the Montgomery County Volunteer Center's senior fellow, rosalyn Houston. Welcome, rosalyn, how are you today?
Speaker 5:I'm good. Thank you so much for having me, Derek.
Speaker 2:Thank you for being here and you called you, sent me a communication and it was so enthusiastic and it was so of the moment. There's something exciting going on with the Volunteer Center to get volunteers ramped up and energized for what it was maybe a new season of giving back.
Speaker 5:Yes, that's right. So October is Montgomery County's Community Service Month, and so we are hosting the first of its kind event. It's called Fall into Service.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 5:And the event is going to take place the end of September, specifically September 28th, at the Urban Winery in Silver Spring.
Speaker 2:It's going to take place Winery. Okay, so is the winery fully functional during this event? Absolutely Okay so is the winery fully functional during this event?
Speaker 5:Absolutely yeah. So the idea we're trying to pull in potential volunteers, say, in the age group of 21 to 49-ish 49-ish.
Speaker 2:Does that include the 50-ish? I'm not speaking for myself, I'm saying this hypothetically. If there's someone you know, early 50s or whatever, they still able to volunteer.
Speaker 5:Well, let me say this I am in the 60-ish group and I will be there.
Speaker 2:All right, fantastic yes.
Speaker 5:I only say that age group simply because we have programs for the 50 plus group and for the students.
Speaker 2:Understood, totally understood, all right. And so where's the Urban Winery located?
Speaker 5:It's in Silver Spring and I would have to.
Speaker 2:That's okay. Google Urban Winery or ask Siri to give you directions at Urban Winery, and she'll be happy to do it right.
Speaker 5:Correct.
Speaker 2:Also, you said what was the date?
Speaker 5:of that, it's September 28th and it's fall, yes, fall, yes, so it's a play on the word because it is fall, yes, excellent, wonderful, yep. It's on a Sunday afternoon from two to four and the idea, as I said, to bring in this crowd that we haven't really targeted specifically in the past and what we're going to do is have several animal welfare organizations represent it. So we're going to have some cats and dogs and possibly some other critters when we find out.
Speaker 2:On site, on site at the winery that day. So hold on, there's wine and cheap fuzzy animals. So hold on, there's wine and cheap fuzzy animals.
Speaker 5:But there's more, there's more.
Speaker 2:What more do you need? You have cheap fuzzy animals and wine. Okay, all right, I'm sorry. What more?
Speaker 5:So we want to give individuals who may not have volunteered before or may not have volunteered recently as adults an opportunity to get a taste of volunteering. So we're going to have a few community service or service projects. So we're going to have two service projects specifically to make cat toys and then two projects to make dog toys.
Speaker 5:And so we'll donate those to the nonprofits that are going to be on site with us. But we just think having the service projects in addition to giving nonprofits that are going to be on site with us, but we just think having the service projects in addition to giving those that participate an opportunity to kind of see what it's like to volunteer, we think that it'll bring in a lot of the social benefits of volunteering, right? So I'm sure you've heard about the male loneliness epidemic and the lonely not you specifically.
Speaker 2:I know you're not a part of that. I've never heard of such a thing. Oh my gosh Guilty.
Speaker 5:Okay, you know but our last Surgeon General had said there's a loneliness epidemic and I think for people in this age group, particularly if they don't have kids, for example, they may fall prey to that, and so we think the service projects, as well as the animals, would be a good opportunity for interact with other people. You know, the dogs and cats obviously give you an opportunity to interact with their handlers, and just the nature of the projects, it's just, it lends itself, it's almost an icebreaker in and of itself.
Speaker 2:Sounds like a fun environment for people, especially people that are a little shy the animals will help bring them in and you have something to focus on and be able to kind of yes, kind of get you excited about what's going on at the event and maybe also excited about volunteering yes, yes.
Speaker 5:So something for the introverts, the animals, and then the extroverts and then people just like wine.
Speaker 2:How about that? People just like wine coming out there.
Speaker 5:No, we're not encouraging the wine drink, but we do want to patronize the establishment, that's. You know. They've offered their space.
Speaker 2:Certainly we have a big heart for Montgomery County-based businesses. And I'm not going to say it enough, we love Montgomery County based businesses and I'm not going to say it enough.
Speaker 2:We love Montgomery County based businesses and anything that bolsters business in Montgomery County, maryland, is something that we love to support, so that's wonderful that you guys are doing that, but that's not the only thing you guys do. At the Montgomery County Volunteer Service Center. You are active all year long. What are some of the things that you want people to know about volunteering in the county with your organization?
Speaker 5:So the mission of the Montgomery County Volunteer Center is to promote community service throughout the county, and we do that three ways by recruiting both nonprofits as well as individuals and groups to volunteer.
Speaker 5:And then by connecting them, primarily through our Montgomery Serves online platform. The website addresses montgomeryservesorg, and their organizations have an opportunity to post any needs they have for volunteers, and then individuals can go in there and find opportunities to volunteer based on their specific interests, location lots of different options to find something that's a good fit for you. And then we support our nonprofits as well as individuals through training. Specifically, one of the things that we've rolled out recently is our R3 training, which is primarily for volunteer coordinators within our nonprofits, and so the R3 stands for recruit, retain and reward, so giving them tools for managing volunteers throughout the life cycle. Additionally, we do monthly webinars for individuals who just want to learn how to use our platform to find the volunteer opportunity that's right for them. And then we also do a monthly orientation and partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools so that we teach nonprofits who want to award SSL our Student Service Learning Hours to our students what they need to do in order to qualify to be SSL certified.
Speaker 2:That's very comprehensive. Yes, Now what's the URL again?
Speaker 5:It's montgomeryservesorg.
Speaker 2:Okay, great. Is there a phone number people could call or email address associated as well?
Speaker 5:um. Volunteer at montgomery serves or montgomerycountymarylandgov volunteer at montgomery, county maryland. Md is md.
Speaker 2:Yes, thank you, okay, mdgov all right, great, all right, and then, if you're watching the video, we'll have something right around here that will show you the exact email address and the web address. So, ms Houston, thank you so much for being here today. Is there anything else you want people to know about volunteering in the county before we close out?
Speaker 5:I would say I think this is an important time for lots of people in terms of getting into the volunteer space One reason that I can think of, of course. Unfortunately, we've had many people in this area who have lost their federal government jobs and while they're looking, we think volunteering has several benefits for them. For one thing, it can help you develop new skills that you may not have already to add to your resume. I'll just share this short story about my daughter, who she's in North Carolina, but when she graduated from A&T, she moved to Charlotte and she began Aggie pride.
Speaker 5:Oh are you.
Speaker 2:No one of my friends went to.
Speaker 3:North.
Speaker 2:Carolina. A&t A great HBCUBCU known for math, engineering and sciences.
Speaker 5:Yes, yes, my father was an A&T grad and so she followed in his footsteps. But in any case, when she moved to Charlotte she volunteered to coach be an assistant coach of a girls' volleyball team. Now, she grew up in Montgomery County and so she had played volleyball middle school, high school, club ball and she just really loves it. Well, eventually that program got disbanded, but recently she lost her job when all the federal jobs and grant funding got pulled back. But she continues to play Recreation League volleyball and through that job, through the playing recreation league volleyball, she now has at least a part-time job, um as the head coach of the same girls volleyball team at the school that she had volunteered with before that's wonderful.
Speaker 2:She's a paid head coach. Found a way to pivot and also help. People, and especially young people, have a love for volleyball but sometimes lack the the skilled individuals to help enhance their amateur or educational career in volleyball.
Speaker 5:And you touched on another benefit of volunteering, which is finding your passion right. Your work may not your day-to-day nine to five job may not be what you're passionate about, but you can really explore a number of volunteer opportunities and find something that really sparks your passion. That will lead to other opportunities. Because literally, she just had hung around after volleyball practice, hanging out next to her friend who was talking to this man who was just getting this program up and going to provide this resource to primarily African-American girls who didn't have many of the resources to help them become good volleyball players. So all of those reasons developing skills, finding your passion, making connections, not being lonely, finding a sense of purpose so you don't feel like you're just kind of drifting when you don't have a job.
Speaker 2:So many reasons to volunteer in the county, yes, Other than you know just it's the right thing to do.
Speaker 5:Yes, you know it's the right thing to do yes.
Speaker 2:Help your fellow man. It's rewarding self-rewarding, but it also benefits the entire community, and by helping the community you help the county, and by helping the county you help individuals and residents within the county, and the Volunteer Center does a great job of leading that charge. Thank you so much for being here, rosalind Houston.
Speaker 3:That that charge. Thank you so much for being here Um Rosalind uh Houston that's what's happening.
Speaker 5:I was going to add something else. Oh, no, no, no, I'm sure you guys are going to edit this.
Speaker 2:Oh no, no, this is authentic. They get, they get the whole thing, the whole thing. So it's okay. No, so you?
Speaker 5:made. You made me think of something else in terms of helping the uh, the County, the community. So again related to the cuts and the funding for many of our nonprofits right who are really partners with the county government in meeting so many of the needs in the county. Many of them have lost some of their funding resources and so they need volunteers to step in and they're getting more demand again because of programs that may have been cut and not have their funding. So they have a need for more volunteers because they are trying to service more people with fewer resources. So it really benefits everyone, individuals as well as organization, like you said, our community as a whole.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, thank you so much for being here. That's what's happening, milco, montgomery County volunteer center, and they want you to fall into service with their organization with with cute dogs and cats and bunny rabbits in line.
Speaker 5:Hopefully we'll get the bunnies to come out.
Speaker 2:September 28th. Yes, urban winery Correct.
Speaker 5:Two to four.
Speaker 2:Be there or be square.
Speaker 5:All right, all right, thank you.
Speaker 2:All right, and if you're out there and you want to connect with the what's Happening MoCo podcast, follow us at what's Happening MoCo. What's Happening MoCo. That's it, thank you, bye.
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