Health Update: Health & Wellness | City of Norfolk, Virginia – What Experts Say

Kaleidoscope Counseling helps families face life’s challenges.

Francesca Dillard-Moore is on a mission to dispel the negative stigma about mental health that exists in the Black community. As founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope Counseling and Case Management (KCCM) LLC, a Portsmouth-based, comprehensive mental health agency that serves families and children in the Norfolk area, her nonprofit works closely with People FirstUSI to help families from Tidewater Gardens cope.

Since 2019, Kaleidoscope has been awarded one-year support grants from People FirstUSI, funded by the City of Norfolk, to help families who experience trauma, anxiety, depression, drug or alcohol addiction, grief and other issues that impact their quality of life and ability to perform daily functions. Kaleidoscope does this through in-home counseling, mentoring, parenting classes, outpatient therapy, safety courses, and mental health skill-building exercises. It also makes referrals to Medicaid services and community mental health providers to ensure that families receive the comprehensive care they need.

Working with People FirstUSI has enabled Kaleidoscope to treat a vulnerable population that likely would not receive treatment otherwise because, as studies have shown, African Americans tend to shun the mental health system due to the cost of treatment, perceived shame of needing help, and negative past experiences from white mental health professionals who were not sympathetic to the unique needs of people of color.

Kaleidoscope removes those barriers by employing a diverse staff that families from Tidewater Gardens can relate to. “When they see people who look like them, they are more encouraged and become more trusting,” says Dillard-Moore.

In the last three years, Kaleidoscope has helped more than 40 former Tidewater Gardens families, many of whom are experiencing some type of trauma. Typically, says Dillard-Moore, the trauma stems from violence – whether it is domestic violence in the home, from seeing or experiencing it in the neighborhood, or from the violent death of a loved one. Sexual assault and depression also loom large.

Kaleidoscope hopes to make inroads as a People FirstUSI partner by providing a continuum of care for former and/or returning Tidewater Gardens families for up to five years after they enroll in the program to ensure they have the resiliency to withstand life’s challenges.