Stephanie Santana, a single Hispanic woman in her thirties, had worked for many years in the mailroom of IST Management Services, a printing, records and electronic document management company, until she injured her knee and decided to resign. Born and raised in Harlem, a neighborhood in Northern Manhattan in New York City, she had struggled with mental health  and had been hospitalized multiple times due to crises. She joined Goodwill’s Harlem PROS (Personalized Recovery Oriented Services) after leaving her job on October 2022.

At first, Stephanie struggled to attend the Goodwill program due to symptoms of anxiety, paranoia, sadness, and confusion. Thanks to the motivational and therapeutic counseling that her behavioral health counselor provided her in individual sessions, Stephanie began attending and participating in the program’s services more frequently. She attended groups that provided her coping, basic living, and problem solving skills training. She also attended benefits and financial management, and relapse prevention planning. These services have helped her “come out of her shell” to socialize without anxiety, become more confident, creative and have a better understanding of her mental illness.

Stephanie continues to work on her mental health; she attends groups at PROS regularly. She maintains a great relationship with her family and has chosen to live with her mother, a person with disabilities. She is building social relationships, managing her finances, and making money selling health products.

“Before coming to Goodwill, I didn’t want to talk. I was very shy and felt nervous and anxious,” said Stephanie. ”I have learned how to manage mental health symptoms better at PROS groups. My mindset is changing.”

Goodwill’s PROS (Personalized Recovery Oriented Services) is a treatment and rehabilitation day program that assists adults (18-year-old and older) with serious mental illness with the mental health and substance use issues that prevent them from achieving their life goals. PROS helps participants gain the necessary skills to live independently, to get a job, and to develop the support they need to integrate into their community and help manage their mental health.

To learn more about the Harlem PROS services and eligibility, please email services@goodwillny.org

Story submitted by the Harlem PROS team:
Mikaela Lopez, Behavioral Health Counselor.
Daisy Tan, LCAT, Assistant Program Director.
Jeffrey Malone, LMHC, Program Director.