“I think people today are more open to reach out and say I need help. Who is going to be there on the other end to answer the call? It’s going to be Wyandot.”
That’s why Therese Bysel says she has supported Wyandot Behavioral Health Network for the last two decades as a donor and board member. She wants to make sure that resources like Wyandot BHN will be around to provide services and support for years to come.
Bysel’s connection to Wyandot BHN began nearly 20 years ago when she was working at a bank and received Wyandot BHN’s community newsletter in the mail. That edition included the story of a man who was homeless and had received support from Wyandot Center. Bysel says that story grabbed her and she felt compelled to get involved. Shortly after, she met a few members of Wyandot BHN’s homeless outreach team.
“I just fell in love with them,” says Bysel. “During our friendship, I went out on homeless outreach efforts and that was the hook for me. I was able to see how they found these folks and the response from the people they served. It was so humbling to be with them and see the work they were doing.”
Over the past two decades, Bysel’s support has provided emergency shelter for children during the most difficult times in their lives, winter coats to vulnerable individuals in our community and so much more. Bysel says the Winter Coat Drive resonates her for one simple reason.
“When it gets cold and you’ve got to go to school or work and you are freezing, what’s your thinking process? You’re thinking ‘how am I going to get warm?’ If you’re warm, you can move about your business and not have that as a worry.”
Thank you, Therese, for your continued support of Wyandot BHN and mental health initiatives here in Wyandotte County!