She was lost in “the dark space”Thank you for helping Karena find her light and her voice“I was too much in my mind,” says 60-year-old Karena. “I just wanted to go away.” On the eve of Chinese New Year, her boyfriend of three years said that his wife was coming to the U.S. — she did not know he was married. Lost in “the dark space,” Karena hurt herself with the intention of ending her life. We met Karena two months later when she was transferred from the psychiatric hospital to our Madrone Crisis Residential program. Thanks to your support, this once cold, drab facility has been transformed into a warm, comforting home designed specifically to help individuals in crisis, like Karena.

Despite the welcoming environment, Karena isolated herself. She was afraid everyone would laugh at her and what she

had done (she gestures to the scars on her wrist). Her culture and her family had taught her always to stay silent. But Khalil, a staff member, “He kept knocking on my door,” says Karena. “‘Come out, Karena,’ he would say, ‘come talk to someone.’ When I told him I didn’t like him, he didn’t care.”

Slowly something shifted for Karena, “I realized I needed to

Creating Opportunties • Changing Lives 1

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CommunitySOLUTIONSYour support is changing lives every day! SUMMER 2018

DONATE HERE

PEEK INS I D E :ResolutionsGone Bust?

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Haircuts & Smiles

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Getting HelpJust Got Easier

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Your Dollars create opportunities for change! Children, teens, families and adults in our community struggle with mental illness every day. Help them on the path to healing and recovery today. It’s safe. It’s fast. It’s online. Visit us at www.communitysolutions.org.

Thanks to your support, Karena now says, “The future looks wonderful.”

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Creating Opportunities • Changing Lives

change my life. I’m too young to be living like this.” So she began to share her story - and no one laughed. Instead, “most people there tell me they’ve been through the same thing, feeling so sad. They were honest with me and we became good friends.”

As she learned to open up, Karena felt herself being pulled out of the past and into the future. “In the groups they said, ‘The past cannot change.’ So I’m learning to forget about the past and be happy in the moment. I have a goal and I go step by step to the future.”

In that future she’s also talking a lot more. “To my son, to you for this interview, to my physical therapist - we’re like old friends now.

I used to keep it all inside. Not now. I like the American way of no secrets; America is right, you need to be open and share,” she says.

Karena is now going to adult school to improve her English and volunteering as a translator at the Social Services office.

“I speak four different languages: Vietnamese, Can-tonese, Mandarin and English. So I go there for an hour a week and I’m so happy [helping people].”

“Life is wonderful now,” says Karena. “There is a saying that life doesn’t have to be perfect but it should be beautiful - I want to live that.”

Often we change clients’ names and images in stories, to respect their privacy. But Karena wanted us to use her real name and photo “This is who I am,” she says.

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“There is a saying that life doesn’t have to be perfect but it should be

beautiful - I want to live that.”

New Year’s resolution a bust? Put your exercise equipment to good use

Is your well-intentioned treadmill or exercise bike now gathering dust? Or maybe you have a ping pong

table the kids have outgrown? You can still put them to good use! We’re looking for donations of gently used exercise equipment for our Madrone Crisis Residential program.

Adults come to this program at a particularly low time in their lives, often struggling physically as well as mentally. Your donation of exercise equipment can help them develop habits of regular exercise and movement to boost both their mental and physical health.

If you would like to donate your gently used exercise equipment, please contact Paige Day at 408-846-4713 or paige.day@communitysolutions.org.

Is your exercise equipment sitting idle? Donate it today to help our clients develop healthy habits for body and mind.

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Looking good & feeling good too! Creating smiles with great hair.Clients at our Madrone Crisis Residential facility are looking sharp with new haircuts - and smiles to match - thanks to the generosity of Sports Clips Haircuts of Morgan Hill.

“If you could see the expressions on their faces when they receive their haircuts,” says Raymond Fierro, Program Manager, “they just light up and we see such a positive change in their attitudes and manner. It makes their day go smoother and puts a smile on everyone’s faces.”

The Madrone Crisis Residential program provides a safe, healing environment for adults who have experienced a severe emotional or psychiatric episode. While seemingly simple, a haircut can go a long way to improving self-confidence and encouraging positive self-regard.

The Sports Clips team is a great local partner, treating our clients with gentleness and understanding. “All our team members want them to look good and feel fabulous,” says Robynn Meyers, owner. “Sports Clips is about making them feel like champions.”

DONATE HERE

Community Solutions’7th Annual Gala

November 3, 20186PM to 10PM

The Granada TheaterMorgan Hill

More information: www.communitysolutions.org

Saturday, September 8th 8AM Registration; 8:30AM Walk Coyote Creek Trail, Morgan Hill

Join us for a family-friendly 5-mile walk to benefit Community Solutions’ annual Holiday Giving Program. Help make holiday wishes come true!

Registration & Information:www.communitysolutions.org

Brenda is positively

glowing as her Sports Clips stylist finishes up. The magic of a simple haircut!

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Creating Opportunities • Changing Lives

Getting help just got easier!Check out our new mobile friendly website You can now learn about our programs, register for events, and read new client stories on any device. Visit us today at www.communitysolutions.org!• Whatever device you are using — we’ll adapt!

Our new responsive design adapts to mobile phones, iPads and laptops making it easy for you to get to us any time, from anywhere.

• Need help for yourself or a loved one? Visit our new Need Help? or Necessita Ayuda? pages for quick information on the services we provide.

• Want to know if your support is truly making a difference? Scroll down our homepage to read client stories about the local families and individuals whose lives you’ve changed.

• Do you want to make a difference today? Our updated donation page is easy to use from any device and now accepts credit cards, bank transfers, and PayPal.

Thank you to local award-winning marketing agency Articulate Solutions for making this website possible with their donation of design and services. We are honored to have the support of such a creative and dedicated team working on behalf of our clients!

Visit www.communitysolutions.org today for a new mobile friendly

experience!