SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — A nonprofit organization that helps children and young adults with behavioral health diagnoses has opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Sierra Vista after years of meeting clients wherever space was available.
Mentally Ill Kids in Distress (M.I.K.I.D.) has operated in Cochise County since 2018, serving 120 people aged 25 and under who have behavioral health diagnoses, including autism. The organization has eight locations throughout the state.
M.I.K.I.D., a nonprofit helping youth with behavioral health needs and their family, has been serving Cochise County since 2018, but for the first time, they've got an actual brick and mortar, so they're able to provide more resources to this community.
Before securing this permanent space, staff members met with clients wherever they could find room.
"Anywhere in the community that allowed us so sometimes it was at the park, at the mall, library, sometimes just a bench that we could find to sit and talk," said Alexis English, Direct Services Manager at M.I.K.I.D.
English says what they offer is unique to the community.
"There's nobody that does what we do here," English said.
The organization's 13 staff members provide various support services to help young people develop essential life skills.
"There's coping skills, there's healthy relationships. We do groups, we educate them, we empower them," said Miranda Hayden, Family Support Manager at M.I.K.I.D. “A lot of times, parents don't want to take their kids out to the community because their kids might be triggered by something the parents don't know how to do it. So the family bondings come in, where we're able to help and teach them the techniques and the skills and the patience to be able to be successful for them as well, and teach them that you don't have to stay homebound.”
Hayden highlighted the significance of the organization's growth and their ability to serve more than 100 clients.
"Being able to grow from where we started at, and to be at 100 and something and still going. That's huge. Again, that's just a huge accomplishment," Hayden said.
The current government shutdown has created concerns for the nonprofit since all their patients rely on ACCESS for healthcare coverage.
"So we do have some parents that are concerned with that. We just continue to support as much as we can. We can't control the government shutdown, but we just continue to provide support," Hayden said.
The official grand opening ceremony for the new location will take place Friday at 3 p.m. at 365 E Short St. in Sierra Vista.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
- Download our free app for Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, Alexa, and mobile devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
