Mental health issues can derail an otherwise productive person’s professional success, but a new program looking to launch in Sarasota by year’s end could assist individuals with vocational training and job placement. Officials for Vincent House in Pinellas County plan to break ground on Vincent Academy, a Sarasota facility that will provide individuals with a “Recovery Through Work” curriculum. “We are about community integration and eventually job placement for folks who need help to lead a productive life,” explained Executive Director William McKeever. 

The new facility will mirror the offerings at Vincent House, which opened in Pinellas Park in 2003. There, the facility serves a population of people with mental health issues including schizophrenia, bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorder. The success in Pinellas attracted the attention of Sarasota philanthropists Bob and Joan Geyer, who own Sunset automotive Group and told officials there was a definite workforce need in this region. The 8,500-square-foot academy will be built by Delta Southern Construction and designed by Sarasota architect Thornton Little. 

The organization was named for painter Vincent Van Gogh, who infamously suffered from mental illness, but the Sarasota facility will be called Vincent Academy to more accurately reflect that the organization provides educational training, not rehabilitation or housing services. McKeever said Vincent Academy works with the Central Florida Behavioral Health Network and will network with local nonprofit and business organizations to develop a pool of both clients and receptive employers. 

“The typical person comes to us chronically unemployed,” McKeever says. “Many don’t have a work history. Most are diagnosed in their late teens of early 20s, and then is where their work experience stops. They come to us because they are not able to get into the workforce. Typically, the training and education we provide is the first step back.” Those enrolled in the programs have various support backgrounds from some that are engaged in the system and living in strong family environments to others who not involved in any agency's mental health efforts and who may be living on the street. Participants range in age from 18 up to around 70, but McKeever says the average age remains in the 30s.

The groundbreaking is scheduled for Thursday at 3pm at 1910 Glengary Street in Sarasota.