 |
Krista Hale joined the National Counseling Group (NCG) in February, 2005. She obtained her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 1978 from Indiana University and brings with her more than thirty years of social work experience.
Immediately prior to joining NCG, Ms. Hale was a Corrections Counselor for both male and female adult offenders in the Virginia prison system. This work included running treatment groups for substance abusers and sex offenders. She held memberships in the American Correctional Association, the Virginia Correctional Association and the Virginia Correctional Counselor's Association. Ms Hale was a presenter at the 2004 Correctional Counselor's Conference in Richmond, Virginia and was a trained member of the Virginia Department of Correction’s Crisis Response Team.
Prior to this, Ms. Hale was a Program Manager for Community Residences, where she was employed for 15 years. The non-profit agency served people in Arlington, Virginia with mental illness and mental retardation primarily in group home settings in the community, with a focus on normalization, community integration, and quality of life. During her work here, Ms. Hale served as the manager of several group homes for adults with mental retardation. Before this, she was a case manager for individuals who were homeless and chronically mentally ill, including those who were dually diagnosed with mental illness and substance abuse. She was instrumental in starting the Transitional Program for the Homeless and served on numerous task forces. Ms. Hale worked under the McKinney and Path grants, was a member of The National Alliance to End Homelessness, participated in the Annual Walk for the Homeless on numerous occasions, and sat on the National Association of State Mental Health Program Director’s Task Force which recommended national reporting guidelines for PATH projects to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She conducted trainings on mental illness for shelters, the department of social services, and other service providers.
Ms. Hale was one of the founding members of the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN), which now operates a street feeding program for the homeless 7 days a week at 3 Arlington locations, the emergency winter shelter, the outreach program, and a drop-in center. While there, she sat on the Board of Directors twice, conducted research on existing gaps in services for the Arlington homeless population, designed the outreach program and served as the Outreach Coordinator, and sat on the county’s Emergency Winter Shelter Advisory Board as well as the Homeless Street People’s Task Force. Additionally she sat on a panel of experts that presented in a series of meetings for concerned citizens, participated in grant writing, spoke in front of the county board, developed the training manual and trained volunteers for the emergency winter shelter, participated in community activism, circulated petitions, and assisted with the U.S. Census count of the homeless population in Arlington, Virginia twice.
Before coming to Arlington, Ms. Hale spent two years as a case manager at the House of Ruth’s shelter for homeless women in Washington, DC. There, she worked primarily with women with untreated chronic mental illness, AIDS victims, and active substance abusers. She assisted with a long-term research project utilizing the mental status exam and diagnostics to track mental illness in the female homeless population. She served also as the Children’s Advocate at the House of Ruth’s Battered Women’s Shelter, where she did individual and group work with children, and ran parenting groups.
For five years, Ms. Hale also worked at the Montgomery County Association for Retarded Citizens in Rockville, Maryland, where she was the Program Coordinator for three group homes as well as assisting with Quality Assurance. She was the agency’s trainer for all new staff, as well as conducting regular staff trainings on Treatment Planning and Behavior Management. While there, her program received a special commendation letter from the state.
Previously, Ms. Hale worked in Indianapolis, Indiana in a variety of settings including the Parent Support Center, Indianapolis Public Schools, and the Program for Independent Living at the Indianapolis Senior Citizen’s Center.
Ms Hale has devoted the majority of her working life to counseling and advocating for those who have difficulty advocating for themselves, and in teaching her clients to become responsible members of their communities. She believes that people can find success in spite of obstacles such as family conflicts or instability, mental illness, developmental disabilities, physical challenges, substance abuse, poverty, homelessness, victimization, criminality, and/or behavioral issues and embodies NCG's strength-based mission of alleviating suffering and improving lives.
In 2005, Ms. Hale was recognized as “Counselor of the Year” at National Counseling Group. In 2008, Ms. Hale became the Site Director of the Culpeper Office. She is currently working on her Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling. You can reach Ms. Hale by calling 540-522-7023 or via electronic mail at krista.hale@nationalcounselinggroup.com.
Email:
Krista Hale |
