Rose Young Aldrich ’94
Rose Young Aldrich ’94 is a frontline crisis clinician on the Emergency Services Team at Northeast Kingdom Human Services in St. Johnsbury.
Northeast Kingdom Human Services (NKHS) provides mental health services with the mission to enrich communities and enhance the abilities of individuals and families to improve their lives.
Through his work at CALEX Ambulance, Michael Wright ’94 often works with NKHS employees and clients. He recommended Rose for recognition as a SJA Shining Star. He shared, “Rose is an amazing person who does amazing things for our mental health community. She has assisted our staff annually with mental health training. She is passionate, caring, fun, and extremely dedicated to her profession.”
During the 18 years Rose has worked at NKHS, her various positions have always involved emergency services in some capacity. In her current role, she evaluates individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis. She works with people of all ages who are experiencing things like suicidal/homicidal ideations, self-injurious behavior, psychosis, or who are struggling with significant life-changing events. She is trained to screen people in court and to hospitalize individuals both voluntarily and involuntarily for their safety. The number of crises vary day to day and can depend on the time of year.
Emergency Services Program Manager Tonya Davis was pleased to help us highlight Rose. She shared, “Rose is a great person to be recognized as a shining star because of her working relationships with community members, her work ethic, she’s empathic, and she goes above and beyond on a daily basis. Rose is a hard worker and puts the individual’s needs and her team’s needs before her own. She is an asset to the Emergency Services Team here at NKHS.”
Rose was surprised and thankful for this recognition. When asked about her work, Rose wrote,
I believe my work is no more or less than that of others in this amazing community, it just depends on where you find your niche. Mine happens to be not just mental health, but mental health crisis. My job is rewarding to me as I am able to help educate those who are struggling, and at times, in the most severe personal crisis — that can be life or death, as well as educating our community about mental health. It is a rewarding feeling to know that I can be a beacon for anyone wanting or needing me. I am blessed to work alongside my NKHS team and countless community partners to help strengthen our community one person at a time.
Thank you to Rose for stepping up every day to be an important support for people in our community and for providing vital education to ensure proper care is provided.