Yes, they do serve. That's a big part of what they do, being that bridge. A lot of individuals, as we discussed earlier here today, have fallen through the cracks, are in basements. They're very isolated. When they connect with people like Cyndi and Shawn, Cyndi and Shawn act as where they can be if they can get themselves into treatment.
Oftentimes they're very skeptical of treatment. They're not comfortable with coming forward for treatment, or maybe they've already been in treatment and they didn't find that it worked for them. So Cyndi and Shawn work with them, try to build that trust if that trust had been broken previously in the system, and walk with them through the treatment process.
For example, many times they may need to see a mental health professional very frequently, but we know there is a shortage of mental health professionals, so they may not be able to see them every day. But if they see people like Shawn and Cyndi on a daily basis, or a phone call to ask how it's going today, they can discuss with them how it is going and they give them the encouragement to stick with the treatment plan that the individual mental health professional has set up for them. So they help them stay within treatment by walking with them and encouraging them that they can be like the Cyndis and the Shawns if they go through that process.
Some journeys are long and some are short, but OSISS is a big part of getting individuals into the health care system, because they're not going to recover unless they do get into that clinical side of the services that they desperately need.