Gannon Student Amber Ingram Completes Internship

Amber Ingram is a student at Gannon University and will soon complete her internship at MHANP.

~ Amber's Essay ~

Anxiety Support Begins May 4, 2012

The new "Anxiety" peer support group will meet the first and third Friday of each month beginning May 4, 2012 from 1:30PM to 2:30PM. The group provides a safe and casual environment to explore ways to reduce anxiety and its disorders that fall under this category (panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, social phobia and general anxiety disorder).

~ Overview of Group ~

My Middle Name is Patrick

Brian McLaughlin discusses his visit to his doctor. "This is one time I went to the doctor well and left feeling ill. I went in feeling like a person and left feeling less so."

~ Full essay. ~

Mercyhurst Student Kyra Stanyard Completes Internship

Kyra Stanyard is a student at Mercyhurst University and will soon complete her internship at MHANP.

~ Kyra's Essay ~

CENTER TEAM MEMBER JOINS STATE COMMITTEE

Congratulations to MHA Center Team Member Adrian Ewing. Adrian has been asked to serve on the State Drop-In Center Coalition Steering Committee. We are sure he will be able to offer some great insight and bring back helpful information to Northwestern Pa.

Invitation to Join MHA in "Celebrating Hope, Encouragement, Recovery"

MHA is proud to announce that we have partnered with the I'm the Evidence/Mental Health Campaign (ITE/MH), a grassroots initiative to increase awareness that people recover from mental illness and to celebrate individuals who are living examples of recovery, as well as those who support them.

The campaign officially launched this month after a year of planning led by the Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania (MHAPA) and Support the Journey. The MHAPA works on behalf of the mental health of citizens of Pennsylvania instilling principles that facilitate recovery and resiliency of individuals and their families. Support The Journey provides products and services that help people understand, embrace, and support the human potential for growth, discovery, and recovery. At the heart of the Campaign is a poem expressing the Campaign's values - belief, hope, giving, connectedness, action, example, encouragement, and possibility. (Read the entire poem at www.itecampaign.org.)

Becoming a partner in the ITE/MH campaign is a natural fit for MHA. Celebrating the recovery accomplishments of mental health consumers and the roles of families, professionals and organizations in helping consumers in the pursuit of their dreams has been a part of what we do since the MHA came into being in 1993. Those of you receiving this message have also shown a commitment to mental health recovery and we invite you to become a part of this powerful and positive statewide initiative by becoming an ITE/MH partner (organization) or ambassador (individual)

As a Partner, we will spread the messages of the Campaign by helping consumers share their recovery stories, hosting ITE/MH events, recruiting more partners and ambassadors for the campaign, and by being true to the campaign mission.

Join us! Be part of the Campaign. Learn more or get involved at www.itecampaign.org or call me or Rita Wheeler at 814-452-4462 to honor the Evidence in you or someone you know.

Thanks

Bill Grove, CEO

Celebrating our volunteers: National Volunteer Week April 15-21

A party was held Apr 20th, 2012 to recognize the many contributions of the volunteers at the Mental Health Association. During the last 12 months, 219 different volunteers have given 7,175 hours of their lives to the betterment of our community. The focus of these efforts vary from Art Class to Woodworking and include 55 categories.

The Mental Health Association has always stepped up to aid sister non-profit agencies in their missions whenever possible. For example, our volunteers have performed mail handling and office tasks for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Upper Room of Erie, reordered and shelved materials for the library at NAMI Erie and recently created a new web site for Upper Room of Erie. We visit those hospitalized at Warren State Hospital and offer encouragement and socialization. We visit the Corry Counseling Center and share life experiences with members. These are but a few of the numerous efforts we make to reach out and assist whenever possible.

We try to be responsible stewards of our neighborhood. Our volunteers keep our property neat and clean by collecting trash, pulling weeds, and planting flowers and shrubs where possible. We also maintain our building by painting what ought to be painted and cleaning what needs to be cleaned.

Our members are guided in the use of internet technology and personal computer usage in our computer lab by volunteers. In our computer training facility volunteers provide hands on learning of basic computer. This hands on learning is intended to improve members' employment chances.

Andy Wheeler, Volunteer
Database Administrator

"Telling Our Stories" on YouTube

MHA TV production crew has been working on the "Telling Our Stories" Project during the past year. The project is designed to spotlight mental health Recovery stories of consumers in Erie County. We have videotaped numerous Recovery stories that show the power of hope in a person's life. Hope, Personal Responsibility, Self-Advocacy, Education and Support are the common attributes found in each of these stories. Please visit this YouTube site to see one of our Recovery stories.

Recovery Stories Needed for CATV Production

The Mental Health Association is recruiting volunteers to tell their personal Recovery stories. A Community Access TV Video is being produced to provide these stories to interested organizations. This message by Kate Bender gives more detail.

The Internship Experience at the MHA

Several college seniors from universities within the tri state area have spent a semester at the MHA. We have asked our recent interns to express their impression of their experience with us.