Wells Fargo Foundation awards $20,000 to MIRCI to support Columbia’s homeless youth home and COVID-19 response efforts

Mental Illness Recovery Center Inc. has been awarded $20,000.00 by the Wells Fargo Foundation, to assist with the operations of the Midlands only transitional youth home and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since early March, MIRCI has continued to provide necessary treatment and services to over 400 individuals and families who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and who have been diagnosed with serious and persistent mental illness. The demand for clinical care, Personal Protection Equipment, and basic needs, has increased in order to ensure that staff and patients remain safe and healthy during these uncertain times. In addition to its supportive housing and behavioral healthcare clinics for adults and youth, MIRCI operates a transitional youth home that serves as an early intervention and prevention resource to young men age 17-24 who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The home provides a safe, stable, and supportive environment that transitions young men toward a path of independent living and adulthood.

“We are thankful for the generosity and thoughtfulness of the Wells Fargo Foundation,” said executive director, Julie Ann Avin. “At a time when our staff is working their hardest to make sure our clients continue receiving treatment and reassuring our neighbors in Lexington and Richland that there are resources available to them during these trying times, having the support from Wells Fargo is instrumental to our ability to continue serving our community.”

MIRCI has responded to the pandemic by adhering to the guidelines of the CDC and SCDHEC; continuing physician and nursing services; increasing home visits to clients and providing basic needs; educating and communicating with clients, both youth and adults, about the use and need of PPE and social distancing; and providing information to the community as it relates to mental health during a crisis.

MIRCI – the Mental Illness Recovery Center, Inc. (www.mirci.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization celebrating 60 years serving the midlands,  whose mission is to create pathways to recovery for individuals who are experiencing or at risk of mental illness and/or homelessness.