Sharon Knight

STORY & PHOTOS BY JILL HOLLOWAY No one has to struggle alone

Known as “the anchor” of the Vashti Center, Sharon Knight has always pulled everyone together to help kids with their mental health.

Ahero can be described as someone who is “admired for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Sharon Knight does not consider herself a hero, but if you ask the countless children she’s helped over the past 13 years, they would tell you otherwise.

Knight is a community support worker at the Vashti Center.

The Vashti Center is a community mental health program, offering in-clinic and in-home community mental health services to children and their families. It currently serves more than 250 children and families throughout six counties in Southwest Georgia, helping them overcome despair, fi nd peace and become empowered to build a better life in future.

Knight plays an integral role in helping the children empower themselves, as she often visits the schools throughout the six counties, working with teachers to fi gure out how to best suit certain students’ needs.

Knight explained children can be referred to the Vashti Center if they are having trouble at school or if they have been through a trauma or are experiencing grief.

“We offer a behavioral health assessment,” she said. “That is something the therapist would do, and would be considered the fi rst step.”

The therapist would then meet with the parents or guardians, discuss what the situation is and devise a plan of action, rather it be therapy, community support services or family skills training.

In addition, children can also be assessed by a doctor and a nurse, who are onsite every Thursday to see if

I like being an anchor to this offi ce and having families know they can count on Mrs. Sharon with the Vashti Center

they need medication to help alleviate the mental issues they are facing.

If no medication is needed, but the child has been referred to getting help from community support services or family skills training, that is where Knight comes in.

“What I do is work with that child on coping skills, social skills, setting boundaries and I work with the families on how to address the behavioral issues at home… I really just focus on whatever that child needs,” she explained.

Knight also works to link children with other specialists who can help them.

She shared that if a child has a learning disability, she will often go to the school and help facilitate support for the student or if there are behavioral issues, work with the school’s behavior interventionist.

Dealing with children day in and day out who are struggling with their own mental health can sometimes take a toll. However, Knight said Vashti Center really encourages all of their workers to communicate with one another.

“We have a lot of support,” Knight said. “We rely on each other to talk about things going on with the kids; self-care is also important. We encourage each other to take the time we need.”

While Knight may take time for herself every once in a while, she puts on a brave face for the kids she serves, as she said the kids are experiencing so many different types of trauma and it’s important to be aware of that.

COVID-19 added more issues to not only physical trauma, such as abuse, but Knight said she saw more depression due to isolation and academic issues due to virtual schooling and lack of socialization.

“We still have kids who haven’t gone back and are still online and it’s causing a lot of depression and anxiety,” she said.

However, those feelings can be overcome with the help of Knight and the Vashti Center.

The Vashti Center serves children up to age 18, and while some children may be feeling depressed or anxious due to schooling, others may feel that way due to an ongoing substance abuse issue.

Knight said this is something she, along with every other trained provider, can help with.

The Vashti Center offers what is known as The Seven Challenges.

The Seven Challenges is a comprehensive counseling program that incorporates work on alcohol and other drug problems. It is designed to motivate patients to evaluate their lives, consider changes they wish to make and then succeed in implementing the desired changes.

“It is specifi cally designed to work with adolescents in the developmental phase,” she said. “If we have a child, who is actively using, we would present this to them and work with them by taking a whole look at their life.”

Knight explained that sometimes during The Seven Challenges, other issues may be addressed as the child develops a repertoire with the case worker. This is common not only in The Seven Challenges, but in every patient Knight sees.

She said when fi rst assessed, children are typically on a path to be discharged by the end of 3-months, but as things come up, they can be further discussed.

“At the end of the 90-day period, they’ll be reassessed,” she said. “It’s so rewarding to see the progress they’ve made, though. I just love helping the children of Bainbridge.”

Knight’s love of helping children is what makes her not only a hero, but the “anchor” of the Bainbridge Vashti Center.

She was one of the fi rst employees hired before there was ever a Bainbridge location and has since been loyal, despite a CEO and a clinical manager leaving over the years.

“I like being an anchor to this offi ce and having families know they can count on Mrs. Sharon with the Vashti Center,” she fi nished.