(WKBN) – This week, we’ve been learning about the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board’s outreach program. The program welcomes invitations to talk to groups.

To get in touch with the program, just contact outreach coordinator Valerie Burney at 330-360-2438 or valerie.burney@mahoningcountyoh.gov.

“I like to go out and talk about the resources that are available to youth. I get a gamut of youth all the way to senior citizens. Just to talk about taking care of yourself, we have to take care of ourselves. So I love to do that,” Burney said.

It seems as though we all have experienced some form of trauma, but it’s how we deal with it that makes an impact. Resources are available to those who need them through the Mental Health and Recovery Board.

Our youth need to learn to communicate when they have an issue and realize there’s another answer than violence.

“Exactly, that is the goal. Again, that is a challenge, you know, to make sure that they are aware. But again, I love to go out and make sure they are aware that we have help for you. You don’t have to go down that path,” Burney said.

So, what does addressing trauma look like? Burney previously said she talked to the aunt of the young man who tragically lost his life at Homestead Park, and what their first conversation was like.

“It was extreme sadness and she was totally, just wasn’t aware if he had actually lost his life. So just being there for her, you know, and supporting her to make sure that she and her family… we have constantly been in touch with that family to make sure that they connect to services, connect to grief counseling, connect so that they get help because this is going to be with them forever,” Burney said.

Burney says she does follow-ups with individuals once they have reached out to her.

“That’s the goal, to link them to the services that… they may need in their lives,” she said.