Tonya Anderson, Dean of Community Programs and Urban Consortium, has partnered with St. Joeseph’s Health, AbleTo, and The Health Coalition of Passaic County to provide Paterson residents with 8 sessions of virtual therapy.
With the help of PCCC contributors Monique McDonald and Aryan Solanki, they forge a path that can potentially create positive changes in the mental and emotional well-being of PCCC students and Paterson residents.
“Everything’s becoming stressful” says Monique McDonald, an employee at Passaic County Community College who has great concern to the livelihood of people living in the area. “A lot of the students are working two jobs and it’s a lot”.
Due to the impacts the COVID-19 Pandemic had on to the Passaic County area, which made a significant cut on the well-being of Paterson students at PCCC, Urban Consortium, an organization dedicated to helping students achieve personal and academic success through honing a student’s skills in all areas of life, has provided ways to make a student’s life more easier. One of these ways would be through free virtual psychotherapy.
“You sometimes need to treat yourself as a person, you know, if you’re going through some things...like dealing with life, dealing with work, dealing with family, sometimes you don’t have the time to think about yourself” said Aryan Solanki, a student who also contributed to bringing awareness of such resources.
Living through one’s day-to-day life may provide one with some sort of stress that can hinder their ability to be self-actualized and to be the greatest version of oneself. It is important to be open-minded of the possibilities Passaic County Community College has to offer, as they might actually provide a helping hand during troubled times.
“I don’t see this as a job, I see this as a mission” Aryan said. With this brave determination in mind, Urban Consortium, PCCC, and the greater Passaic County Area will have the ability to become a guide for those who are struggling to make it through the day by providing Paterson residents with therapy right from the comfort of your own home.
“School is very stressful, you know, we’re trying to get a degree so that we can get a new job. We're trying to provide for our families, we’re trying to enjoy life.” Monique said.
As one’s life situations may occur in one’s life, causing one to go into states of woe, free virtual therapy can be the way that leads Paterson Residents to the happiness they chase after.
“Your mind is like a pearl, like the circle of life, it takes time.” - Monique McDonald