Michael Abraham began working at Warren-Yazoo Mental Health Center in 1990, fresh out of Southern University at Baton Rouge with a degree in business, not counseling. He stayed 18 years.

Now, “a seasoned man” after being director of the agency’s Chemical Dependency Center, he’s moving on to accept a new challenge in a new place.

“It has been a blessing to be in a place where people care about each other and truly care about the people they serve,” Abraham told about 50 colleagues who gathered at a farewell party honoring him.

Next week, Abraham will begin a new job as supervisor of the Veterans Administration Drug Abuse Program in Hampton, Va., a 60-bed intensive substance-abuse treatment center.

He is looking forward to serving the vets.

“It’s my contribution to this great nation that we live in, especially to those servicemen and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Abraham, 42. Many of those veterans are suffering from depression and trauma resulting in substance abuse, he said.

Colleagues praised him as a quiet leader and a man who grew tremendously during his years in Vicksburg.

“He’s an outstanding guy,” said Don Brown, director of the Warren County campus who hired Abraham in 1990 as an in-house counselor. “And he definitely will leave a legacy as a great leader and a great co-worker.”

“There are certain people you know you will never forget, and Michael is one of those,” said Warren-Yazoo Executive Director Steve Roark. “A lot of things come to mind about Michael but one of them is what a leader he has become — a leader I have grown to love and appreciate over the years.”

The Warren-Yazoo Mental Health Center is one of 15 regional centers statewide certified by the Mississippi State Department of Mental Health. Established in 1975, WYMHC maintains campuses in Warren and Yazoo counties, providing community services including in-patient and out-patient substance-abuse treatment, domestic abuse counseling, child services, elderly day habilitation and other therapies.

The center employs about 225 people, Roark said — “people who feel called to be here.” Abraham said he definitely was in that category.

“In the last four to five years since Michael has been a director we have seen enormous growth,” said Donna Hardy, director of acute services. “We have had the dream of expanding the Chemical Dependency Center for years, but only since Michael has been here have we realized that dream.”

Hardy presented Abraham with two photos — one a shot of the CDC building, with signatures of all his co-workers scrawled on the matte bordering the photo, and the other a view from the bluffs of Vicksburg, looking across the river between the two bridges to Louisiana. The photo is to remind him that though he is originally from Louisiana, his “feet are grounded in Mississippi.”

His new position will be much like the one he is leaving, overseeing the day-to-day operation and programs of the VA facility more than twice the size of the 25-bed CDC here.

“Michael has got dedication, he’s got a lot of energy and he’s got humility,” said Herbert Loving, director of services for the state Department of Mental Health. “He believes in what he is doing and makes it his own.”

Since joining WYMHS, Abraham has earned a master’s degree in social work from Jackson State University and begun work on a doctorate, also in social work. His dissertation research will draw from his work with the 9th Circuit Court Drug Court Program, which provides treatment rather than incarceration for some convicted felons.

Abraham was instrumental in getting the program established, said Circuit Court Judge Frank Vollor.

“He will be a tremendous asset wherever he goes,” Vollor said, as he presented Abraham with a plaque in appreciation for his contributions to the program and its ongoing effectiveness. “It is our loss here in Vicksburg but Virginia’s gain.”

Abraham has been married for 14 years to Sandy, a third-grade teacher in the Vicksburg public schools. The couple has a son, 9-year-old Michael, and a daughter, 2-year-old Tori. They attend Word of Faith Christian Center.

“This is going to be good for Michael,” Loving said. “He’s got the ability to go and make things work for him.”

Current clinical supervisor Betty Van Norman will take over directing the CDC until a replacement is hired.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com.