(WNY News Now) – In a heartfelt gathering, the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County celebrated personal triumphs, community support, and the ongoing journey of recovery.

Jamestown, N.Y. – The Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County (MHA) offers support groups and individual coaching for people looking to improve their lives, deepen wellness, thrive in recovery, or support those on a recovery path. Peers use their personal stories to help people find recovery in their own lives in their own way.

The MHA has a monthly recovery luncheon to recognize participants’ progress. 

Afroula Snell, Independent Living Specialist for NY Connects, spoke at the April luncheon, describing the services available through her office. They can help people of all ages, any disability, and caregivers to find care, support, and transportation, remain independent, and get help with Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits by three-way calls to these services. Part of Southwestern Independent Living Center, she can be reached at (716) 661-3010 or NYConnects.ny.gov.

Grants Manager Michelle Colaiacovo awarded certificates to three participants who achieved employment – at a fast food restaurant, as a teacher’s aide, and at the MHA. Awarding a certificate to a participant who achieved three years of sobriety, she noted that, “Every day is a miracle for those of us in recovery.” She is now a Narcan trainer herself.

Peer Specialist Justin Jimenez offered grace before the delicious spaghetti dinner that was prepared by St. Susan Center and served by Activities/PR Coordinator Dianne Valvo and volunteer Marty Carcione. 

Having learned that the MHA needed help providing the food for their luncheons, Carcione contributed her special carrot cake with cream cheese frosting that everyone enjoyed. In a conversation, she shared how much the MHA helped her family when her son started coming to MHA groups last May after returning from three months in a rehabilitation center. “For those without a family to support them, substance use and mental health disorders can lead to homelessness, where they find themselves in a hole they can’t climb out of,” she said. “The MHA has really been a blessing because it is a peer organization. Everyone here can relate to participants, working with them one-on-one as a guide to resources they need.”

The Mental Health Association invites local businesses, churches, organizations and individuals to assist in providing these lunches. To help by making a meal or sharing its cost, contact Dianne Valvo at (716) 720-8098 or Dianne.Valvo@MHAChautauqua.org. In addition to the good feeling you will get, you will be recognized in an MHA newsletter and a widely-distributed news release.

All are welcome to the recovery luncheons at 1 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month. The luncheon and all MHA services are free.

The Jamestown recovery center in the Gateway Building, Door 14, at 31 Water Street is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m.–7 p.m., and Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m. The North County center at Grace Lutheran Church, 601 Eagle Street in Dunkirk, will resume hours as soon as restoration work is completed on the building. Until the reopening, anyone who would like to talk to or meet with an MHA coach in Dunkirk can call (716) 661-9044 or email info@MHAChautauqua.org.

To learn more about the Mental Health Association, call (716) 661-9044 or visit MHAChautauqua.org or facebook.com/MHAChautauqua. A schedule with descriptions of MHA’s dozens of groups and classes is at MHAChautauqua.org/groups.