- 24/7 Crisis support
- Safety Planning
- Legal and medical advocacy
- Support group
- Emergency safe shelter
- Prevention programming and education outreach
- Economic Empowerment
- Food, clothing and basic needs
- Explanation of options
The Cocoon was started after four domestic violence related homicides took place almost back to back in Wood County. The agency began as solely an emergency safe shelter able to house up to 12 survivors. Soon after The Cocoon’s doors opened, it became clear that community-based services were also needed to provide support for those who did not need shelter but were experiencing violence.
Over the years, The Cocoon began to offer sexual assault support services in Wood, Ottawa, Seneca and Sandusky counties. The current agency site opened in 2017 and increased shelter capacity to accommodate 24 individuals. Even with the increased space, it is rare that our shelter facility is not at capacity. Today, The Cocoon provides support to more than 700 survivors and their children annually, of which about 10% are in need of emergency shelter. The remainder are provided programs and services while living and working within the community.
The Cocoon is proud to take a proactive approach to ending violence. Since 2018, The Cocoon’s Prevention Specialist has worked to develop curriculum and materials designed to provide the community with the knowledge to safely and effectively stop assaults. In 2019 a partnership with Owens Community College was developed and our Prevention Specialist began working with their athletes.
Five staff members have received certification in Green Dot, along with BGSU and Owens Community College. Green Dot is an evidence-based prevention model that empowers bystanders to prevent domestic and sexual violence on campus. The Cocoon has participated with BGSU in training faculty and staff on the Green Dot model and played an instrumental role in assisting with implementation of the model on campus.
Currently they are working on adding an on-site group room to allow space for weekly support and other group activities, a Teen Respite Room, which will provide a a space for teens residing in shelter to connect with their peers; space for on-site child and adult counseling; new roof, HVAC, security and additional security lighting. These improvements keep our agency moving forward toward becoming a state-of-the-art facility.
Volunteers are an important part of The Cocoon's support structure. Volunteers who commit their valuable time and energy to helping survivors can serve in a variety of capacities. From building maintenance, to on-call support, to childcare, to event support, volunteers help The Cocoon carry out many of the behind-the-scenes tasks that are critical to raising awareness and providing services.
Cocoon staff are available to make presentations to civic groups, churches, and businesses. Whether your organization wants some basics about our services or your management staff is interested in receiving training on how to work with employees who may be suffering abuse, The Cocoon staff is able to adapt programming to fit your needs.
If you or anyone you know needs services, call our 24/7 crisis line at 419-373-1730, option #2, to be immediately connected to an advocate.
Aimee Coe
This month, we are highlighting Aimee Coe, the Director of Community Programs for the Wood County ADAMHS Board. Aimee has a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and a Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling both from BGSU. She is also an LPCC-S (Licensed professional clinical counselor with a supervisory endorsement) and an LCDC III (licensed chemical dependency counselor).
She started her career in counseling at COMPASS (now Zepf) and then spent 7 years at Behavioral Connections (now Harbor). She then spent time at the Juvenile Residential Center and NorthWest Community Corrections Center before returning to Community Mental Health at Zepf Center. Aimee began her career at the board in January of 2018 as Director of Community Programs. Having spent much of her career working with those suffering from addiction, Aimee choose to specialize in addiction for much of her career. She started working with abused children and then she realized that she "wanted to do more to help those in our community that were suffering." She felt she wanted to help in any way she could especially after seeing the terrible situations that children and families had lived.
Aimee has two very busy kids that keep her and her husband on the move. They are always going to practices, meets, and games for gymnastics, softball, baseball and hockey. Aimee likes to go camping in her free time with her family. Also, Aimee and her family have a hobby farm that consists of livestock that they take to regional and local shows. They are members of the American Rabbit Breeders Associations and raised 15 litters this past year. For self-care, Aimee loves to spend time outdoors and float in the pool when weather is nice. She enjoys getting an occasional massage and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.
Services have continued during COVID with most individuals choosing to receive services via telehealth options. We have been able to secure hardware resources (i.e. tablets) for distribution to anyone that may experience that as a barrier to receiving services via telehealth. We are accepting new clients and services can be initiated remotely via phone or video conferencing options utilizing the Open Access model.
Our offices remain open for in person appointments when indicated with standard precautions consistent with CDC and Ohio Department of Health guidelines followed at all sites including screening upon arrival, wearing masks, and social distancing while on site. As more individuals decide they may want to return to more traditional face to face services, we will be able to provide options including a hybrid group therapy model where some clients receive services on site while others join the group via telehealth.
We have opened our additional office space that is in the same building as our existing suite in Bowling Green at 735 Haskins Rd. This additional space will allow for even greater capacity for social distancing and adherence to safety guidelines.
We have also begun a new group via telehealth out of the Bowling Green office providing Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). We have been offering Individual DBT in the Bowling Green office but the addition of this group allows us to provide the full range of services to maintain adherence to the fidelity guidelines of this specialized program. DBT services out of the Perrysburg office have been maintained to full fidelity throughout the stay at home orders via telehealth.
We are especially proud of our DBT Coordinator, Rae Yenderusiak, who recently completed a specialized training program to provide Prolonged Exposure DBT for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Rae is now one of only six therapists in the state of Ohio to complete this specialized training and become certified in providing these services!
Children's Resource Center
CRC continues to provide comprehensive services through telehealth, including:
- Mental Health Assessments
- Therapy services (both school-based and agency-based)
- Prevention/Early Childhood Services
- Home-based services
- Group and Day Treatment services
- Psychiatric services
This means you will not be required to leave your home to continue to participate in services and receive support. We have secured programming to allow us to provide HIPAA compliant and secure Telehealth services. For families who don’t have access to video technology (smartphone, tablet, computer with camera, etc.) we will do sessions by telephone.
We continue to provide Crisis Services for any youth and family in Wood County.
Please call the agency at 419-352-7588 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to access the crisis therapist.
MRSS Services will be provided through telehealth or telephone. Any crisis situations will be referred for Crisis Intervention services.
Our Residential Unit continues to be in full operation.
We have made adjustments to our visitation protocol in order to comply with guidance to prevent the spread of coronavirus. At this time, in-person visitation has been restricted for anyone from outside the facility. We have added the capacity to do visits both by video and telephone to maintain family contact and interaction between families and their child/teen.
Check out the latest update from The Connection Center!
This summer, NAMI Wood County will be offering their Mental Health Conference Series as three different webinars! They will be held June 25, July 9, and July 23. Each will be 12-1:30p.m. Register at https://namiwoodcounty.org/mental-health-101/ Save the date for AfterBurn on September 25, 2020!
Unison Health is open and ready to serve the community. We are serving existing clients and accepting new clients as well. These services include psychiatry, individual therapy, case management, substance abuse issues, medication assisted treatment, telehealth, and crisis services.
As the community begins to lift some restrictions due to COVID-19, the Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Group is open to the community again. In addition, Unison has implemented a Free NARCAN kit program. Anyone in need of a kit can go to https://www.unisonhealth.org/forms/naloxone/ and complete a short form and training video or simply stop at the Unison Office located at 1084 South Main Street, Bowling Green, Ohio to pick up a kit.
Crisis services are also in full operation with added protective measures to keep clients and staff safe. In the event of a mental health crisis, please call the Wood County Crisis Line (419) 502-4673.
For all other mental health and substance use issues, call our Bowling Green office at (419) 352-4624 or go to unisonhealth.org.
Wood County Health Department
Wood County Suicide Prevention Coalition
The Suicide Prevention Coalition has been actively working to keep the community aware of resources available to those struggling with suicide thoughts and other mental health concerns. These include billboards highlighting Man Therapy messaging and four different public service announcements featuring local family members who lost loved ones to suicide. In May, we distributed several thousand earbuds as a thank you to local heroes of the COVID-19 crisis, including nursing home staff, hospital staff, law enforcement officers, and fire department and EMS professionals. In June, we distributed stickers with suicide prevention resources to stick on boxes or bags at local food banks and school lunch programs operating throughout the county.
Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board
