He’s Been Fighting To Improve Mental Health Service In Coral Springs And Across The Nation – TAPinto.net

CORAL SPRINGS, FL In his late teen years, Jarvis Brunson lost many family members to health problems, including his mother who went into cardiac arrest right in front of him.

Those tragedies traumatized Brunson and lead him to a support system in Broward County that he quickly learned lacked strong mental health components.

That discovery set him on a lifelong path in the halls of county, state, and federal governments as an advocate for improving mental health services, and it eventually brought him to Coral Springs where he works as a mental health services technician.

Sign Up for Coral Springs Newsletter

Our newsletter delivers the local news that you can trust.

You have successfully signed up for the TAPinto Coral Springs Newsletter.

A generally quiet person who picks his words carefully, Brunson, 33, lives in Fort Lauderdale, but he has devoted himself to expanding mental health programs to more people across the region -- from families living in poverty along the countys urban core to those with more means in the suburbs of Coral Springs and Parkland.

We have to advocate for mental health otherwise career administrators will keep doing best-known practices, and thatll all it will be, said Brunson, who works as a technician at Neuro Wellness TMS Centers of Americain Coral Springs, which specializes in transcranial magnetic stimulation and other treatments to treat depression and other disorders.

His supervisor, Shelly Lahn, said Brunson is driven to make a difference in mental health.

Hes always doing what it takes to help people. From kids to seniors, he goes above and beyond, said Lahn, CEO of Neuro Wellness TMS Centers of America.

He learned all about mental health policies and what they lack on his own. He didnt get a fancy degree from a leading university. Instead, he educated himself by reading long, hard-to-understand government reports, proposals, data, and other documents.

Born and raised in Broward County, Brunson said he didnt set out to get involved in policy. But he became interested in the issues because he said he didnt have many advocating for him when his mother, brother, nephew, and grandmother all died within a short period of his life, and he was hurting deep inside.

I learned to advocate for myself, he said. I saw a system that was broken and wasnt focused so much on the patients.

So he studied social work at Broward College and then plunged himself into reading and understanding government policy on mental health.

Brunson served on county and state committees before getting involved at the national level, he said. He was one of 15 young people who founded the group Youth M.O.V.E.in Baltimore that aims to improve services for youth.

Over the years, his work, he likes to think, has contributed to making solid changes to the mental health system, he said.

More funds and program staff have been devoted to helping youth people, especially those in lower-income communities, but Broward County and Florida are still in need of more resources to reach people who are cut off from services, he added.

Today, Brunson spends his days treating patients at Neuro Wellness TMS Centers of America. And hes still involved in the fight for more services.

Hes started a nonprofit, Change Me Foundation, to serve as a clearinghouse for resources in the county for mental health, substance abuse, and other ailments.

In addition, Brunson serves on a county advisory group that helps decide how to spend millions of dollars on social services for youth.

Ive been doing this work since I was 15. Its empowering and educating, he said. I just want to make a difference.

To learn more about Brunsons nonprofit, click here.

(Neuro Wellness TMS Centers of Americain Coral Springs is an advertiser with TAPinto Coral Springs. Visit the practice here: neurowellnesstms.com)

More Coral Springs News:

COVID-19: Covid-19 In Coral Springs: What You Need To Know Thursday, Jan. 21

POLICE: Coral Springs Man Charged With Taking Part In Insurrection At U.S. Capitol

EDUCATION: Coral Springs School Had Highest Number Of New Covid-19 Cases Among Broward Schools Between Jan. 10 - 16

POLICE: Man Arrested For Allegedly Molesting and Sexually Battering 13-year-old Coral Springs Girl

SPORTS: New Coaches Guiding Boys Soccer Teams In Coral Springs During Coronavirus

Follow us onFacebookandTwitterand sign up for FREETAPinto Coral Springs E-News alertsto be the first to read about all things Coral Springs.

Download the FREE TAPinto App.Click here for Android-Click here for iOSfor breaking news, traffic/weather alerts, and special offers.

Have an idea for a story? Looking to advertise? Email Editor/Publisher Leon Fooksman: lfooksman@tapinto.net.

Go here to see the original:

He's Been Fighting To Improve Mental Health Service In Coral Springs And Across The Nation - TAPinto.net