HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — North Carolina agencies are drawing attention to a unique mental health care resource for youth.
What You Need To Know
North Carolina agencies are drawing attention to a personalized model of mental and behavioral health care for youth that breaks the traditional mold
The High-Fidelity Wraparound program aims to help youth and their families set and achieve goals for their lives, connect them with an empathetic support team and to keep families together in the process
High-Fidelity Wraparound services are available through partner agencies across North Carolina
The High-Fidelity Wraparound Program is a personalized model of mental and behavioral health care that breaks the traditional mold. It aims to help youth and their families set and achieve goals for their lives, connect them with an empathetic support team and to keep families together in the process.
Julia Kelly is a High-Fidelity Wraparound facilitator with Youth Villages in North Carolina. She says the program has a unique philosophy when it comes to mental and behavioral health care. It’s not about fixing someone — it's about helping youth learn to use the resources they already have.
“Other people or other services might just come in and tell them what to do, so wanting to be able to give them space to be themselves, and I might support them in that, but I’m not coming in and just telling them what to do,” Kelly said.
She helps families make and stick to plans, identify their support systems and build skill sets for their lives. Kelly said it’s not a therapy program, and it’s more than case management.
“It really is like that problem-solving, goal-setting process that kind of incorporates a lot of those different aspects,” Kelly said.
She sees the program’s real-life results through her work with families, like Myron and Heidi Lucero, a father and daughter in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Heidi Lucero was previously hospitalized due to making attempts on her own life, and Myron Lucero said he would have given anything to help his child.
“As a parent, when everything was going, I was frustrated with the lack of resources,” Myron Lucero said.
After desperately searching for answers, and feeling they weren’t getting the help they needed, they met Kelly and High-Fidelity Wraparound team. Heidi Lucero said the team has changed her life by helping her be honest with herself and make healthier choices.
“If it wasn’t for my Wraparound team, I would not be here. I would most definitely not be in college. I would most definitely not have graduated high school,” Heidi Lucero said.
High-Fidelity Wraparound services are available through partner agencies across North Carolina. If you are having thoughts of ending your own life, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by dialing 988.