COMMUNITY-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Vinfen offers a wide range of person-centered, innovative services designed to help people with mental health and substance use challenges regain their health and live and work successfully in the community. We build on each person’s strengths to improve his or her abilities to succeed and recover.

We know that with the right support, people with mental health challenges can and do attain emotional and physical wellness, achieve meaningful life goals, and are productive and valued members of their community.

We focus on meeting people “where they are at” and helping people develop skills and acquire the resources they need through rehabilitative, clinical, and recovery-oriented services. We partner with each person to identify and set goals that are important to him or her, while providing encouragement and instilling hope along the way.

We help people get back their lives by helping them make friends, strengthen family connections, find jobs, or pursue education, while learning to manage their conditions. We also partner with families to give them the resources they need to advocate and support their family member effectively throughout their recovery.

Our highly trained and dedicated staff work together with more than 3,500 people with mental health challenges in over 100 service settings located throughout Massachusetts. We also provide specialized services to adolescents and young adults, and people struggling with substance use challenges and/or homelessness.

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SERVICES WE PROVIDE:

HOW TO ACCESS COMMUNITY-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

At Vinfen, many of our Community-Based Mental Health Services are available only to people who are eligible to receive support through the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH). These services include residential services, employment services, youth and young adult services, housing and homeless services, and the behavioral health services currently offered through the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.

To be approved for services through DMH, a person must have a qualifying mental health condition as the primary disorder that requires on-going treatment and must meet functional impairment and illness duration criteria.

  • For more information on the criteria that is evaluated for DMH service authorization, please click here.
  • To access an application for DMH Service Authorization, please click here.

Once a person receives DMH service authorization, they will then refer the person to specific service(s), which may or may not be operated by Vinfen, based on the person’s assessed needs and location. For more about the DMH Service Authorization Process, call the DMH Information and Referral Line at 800-221-0053 or visit their website.

Some of Vinfen’s Mental Health services can be accessed by self-referral. These services include Clubhouses, Recovery Learning Centers (RLCs), young adult services provided at access centers including YouForward locations in Lawrence and Everett and at YouthQuake in Lowell as well as through Vinfen’s Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinics.

Clubhouses are available to anyone who is eligible to receive services through DMH. If a person is ineligible for DMH services, they may apply for Clubhouse services directly at the Clubhouse that they would like to attend.

All services, groups, classes, and activities at Vinfen’s RLCs are open to people who identify as having a mental health condition. Services are free of charge.

For more information about eligibility and services, contact Kelly Rizoli at 617-441-1894 or rizolik@template.vinfen.org.

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PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCES

Massachusetts

Federal