PRS, a local nonprofit that helps individuals living with serious mental health issues and facing life crises, is moving its headquarters and over 30 staff and volunteers from McLean to Oakton, and opening its doors on April 2. The PRS Tysons Recovery Academy, which currently operates in McLean, will be re-opened in Merrifield as PRS Fairfax Recovery Academy. In addition, the PRS CrisisLink call center will move to the Oakton facility, relocating from Arlington.
“These moves will create collaborative opportunities. Our new headquarters puts us right next to several other key nonprofit partners who work in human services; and our Fairfax Recovery Academy’s proximity to the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board in Merrifield allows synergy that will benefit our clients as they work to recover,” said Wendy Gradison, CEO, PRS.
PRS administrative headquarters will be relocating to Oakton, starting March 29 and will reopen on April 2. Starting April 2, PRS can be reached at the same main phone number, 703-536-9000. Also moving in will be the PRS CrisisLink program’s five staff and its volunteer corps. PRS CrisisLink is a regional telephone hotline and textline—which receives CSB support for individuals facing serious life challenges and suicidal thoughts. Last year, PRS CrisisLink handled nearly 34,000 crisis calls and 5,600 crisis text conversations from the Northern Virginia region. CrisisLink’s hotline and textline numbers will not change and are still available 24/7/365:
PRS CrisisLink Hotline: 800-273-TALK [8255] or 703-527-4077
PRS CrisisText Connect: Text ‘Connect’ to 85511
Operating out of PRS headquarters in McLean, the PRS Tysons Recovery Academy, funded by the Fairfax-Falls Church CSB, will relocate to a building off of Javier Road in Merrifield. The PRS Mount Vernon Recovery Academy will remain at its current location. The PRS Recovery Academies are based on the structure of a community college and designed to: provide targeted psycho-educational curriculum; be a normalizing environment so that each client can focus on his recovery goals; and, most importantly, promote movement into meaningful community alternatives such as work, volunteering and school. The academy offers over 40 classes, such as Anger Management, Coping Skills, Intro to Recovery, Job Talk, Nutrition, Money Management, Reaching Residential Success, Social Skills, and Stress Management. The Recovery Academy is a day program, and clients generally attend between three and five hours a day, three to five days a week.
When the Recovery Academy relocates, it will be close to a variety of other joint CSB and PRS programs located in Merrifield, making it easier for clients who use those services too. Specifically, it will be in proximity to two other programs that PRS runs in partnership with the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board: BeWell, which provides collaborative mental and physical health care to those with mental illness, and Turning Point, a coordinated specialty care program to help adolescents and young adults aged 16-25 who are experiencing a first psychotic episode.
More information at www.prsinc.org.