USA Pawn has announced their support of a new program entitled ‘Leading by Example’, led by one of the area’s top mental health advocates, Christiane Williams. The program centers on seminars and workshops throughout the region to raise awareness and understanding of mental health and introduce Mississippi residents to available resources, including steps to take when they have a concern for the mental health of themselves or a loved one.
“Supporting our community has been central to our business since we started over 30 years ago,” shares Nick Fulton, USA Pawn’s Managing Partner, “We want to do everything that we can to improve the quality of life in the communities we live and work.”
The program is endorsed by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health and Disability Rights as well as Mississippi and Hinds Behavioral Health Region 9. “Since the pandemic, Mental Health Awareness is becoming one of the leading health issues in our community,” shares Williams, “Many fail to get help because of the lack of knowledge regarding signs to look for and resources.” She created ‘Leading by Example’ to fill that gap and has presented dozens of workshops and presentations in settings ranging from churches to conferences to law enforcement training.
Williams currently works as an Agent with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. She is a certified Law Enforcement Officer with an Educational background in Criminal Justice. She has extensive training in all aspects of law enforcement/corrections and is active in the Behavioral Health Community. She is a Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Public Safety, Adults and Youth, a certified State Instructor with the Mississippi Board of Standards and Training for Law Enforcement, as well as a Crisis Intervention and Trauma-Informed Instructor.
In the last 15 years, she has been very active in the Mental Health Community, assisting persons with mental illness get the necessary help needed when they become a part of the criminal justice system. She serves as a leader of various community organizations, such as NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and Hinds Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention Taskforce. She was recently selected to become a part of a National Best Practice Workshop in Corrections that derived from her involvement at the American Probation and Parole Association Training Institutes. Leading by Example programming is already underway and set to grow thanks to the support of USA Pawn.
“We believe in what Ms. Williams brings to the community and are happy to help her get started with this new endeavor,” Fulton shared. “We hope more businesses will follow our lead and support this initiative.”
More information about Leading By Example is available at the Facebook page facebook.com/leadingbyexamplems or contacting Christiane Williams by emailing leadingbyexamplems@gmail.com.
About USA Pawn: Founded in 1991, USA Pawn operates in Mississippi with six easily accessible locations in Jackson, Pearl, Canton, and Vicksburg. More information is available at usapawn.com by calling 601-501-7296, or via email at info@usapawn.com.
