“This is a place for you”

“This is a place where our Program Participants can feel safe and welcome. They don’t have to give something to be here, them being here is more than enough. Everyone is welcoming and excited that they are here using our services. This is a place of containment, this is a place where they don’t have to feel like their in danger. I’ve noticed that trickle-down with a lot of my clients. There have been folks I have been working with that are so ambivalent about receiving services because in their history services providers and systems have completely failed them. We say not every system is messed up and not every service provider you met is going to give up on you. This is a place for you, for you to feel welcome, for you to come in and if all you want to do is sit down and be in an air-conditioned space this is for you. A lot of the success that I’ve had is really based on that foundation, that you don’t have to be on high alert, and I use that word because it’s a word I hear often from clients. They have to be alert all of the time. That is very damaging to their mental and physical health. To have your nervous system constantly stimulated has huge implications and to have that nervous system take a deep breath has done wonders for a lot of our folks.” – Edward Tan