York Housing often creates community-building events for residents to ensure neighborhoods remain connected.  After the pandemic, it has become more important than ever. York Housing staff members Laura Dehler and Libby Hutton worked together to bring in guest speakers, massage therapists, chair yoga and meditation instruction, a variety of social connection and gratitude exercises, and a healthy lunch for all at the Wellness & Vitality Retreat, held Thursday, May 26, in the Baldwin Center on the York campus.

“Watching the news during COVID became too scary, so I followed baseball instead and I often still feel the need to disconnect,” shared one resident during the engaging program, which was attended by approximately 30 people.

The York Hospital Center for Older Adults and Sweetser, a Maine-based nonprofit community mental health provider, shared resources and information with residents who wanted tips about how to reconnect after a prolonged period of social isolation. Jamie Baburek, a Clinical Supervisor at Sweetser, asked the group to share both a positive and a negative outcome from these past few years. Responses included joyful reminiscing about adopting pandemic pets, enjoying a slower pace with more the time to listen to music, and gratitude for being part of York Housing, where they felt connected and looked after as a community.

“My wife and I feel so lucky that we moved here just before the pandemic. We all had each other here, and that made the stress of COVID more bearable.”

When asked about the hardest parts of emerging from the pandemic, many agreed being isolated from family was the most difficult. “I miss my children. It is tough to know what to do now. . . most of us haven’t hugged our family or friends in almost three years,” shared a resident. Another commented, “It has been depressing. I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression over the years and COVID made this an extra challenging time for my mental health.”

Jamie Baburek, Clinical Supervisor at Sweetser engages residents at the York Housing Wellness and Vitality Retreat on May 26, 2022.

Sweetser’s Jamie Baburek shared tips for resuming routines and maintaining a positive outlook. “Self-care is important, so do what makes your heart sing. Walk with a friend, visit the grandchildren, take that vacation, or go to a concert. But trust yourself and go at your own pace. Wear a mask if you feel safer, get your food delivered if you’re not ready to go into the crowded grocery store, and know that there are things you can do, like exercise, stretching, deep breathing, healthy eating, getting restful sleep, and practicing mindful meditation to help relieve anxiety,” Baburek said. She also added that mental health professionals are a resource for anyone experiencing deeper worries about anxiety and depression. “We’re here to help, so don’t be afraid to call.”

Medical providers help manage both physical and mental challenges, and one resident shared that he has “come to grips with my diagnosis of early stage dementia. I see a wonderful doctor at the York Hospital Center for Older Adults. Dr. Elizabeth Castillo is helping me with medications and meetings to discuss progress. I don’t know where I’m going to be in a few years, but right now I’m happy living in the moment with my beautiful wife of over 60 years. My anxiety is growing weaker while my understanding and acceptance grow stronger. COVID helped make me more aware of my own feelings and how I can impact the feelings of others.”

Another resident shared concerns about his fellow veterans as the Memorial Day holiday nears: “As a veteran, I try to look after other veterans here. I’ve called a few to try to get them involved in York’s Memorial Day Parade, but they haven’t responded to my calls. Sometimes veterans isolate. But I won’t give up on them, I’ll bring them lunch and check in on them, and hopefully they’ll join me in the parade on Monday.”

The York Hospital Center for Older Adults provides a comprehensive outpatient consult service with an interdisciplinary team, which includes medical, nursing, rehab, nutrition, pharmacy and behavioral medicine for our older adult population who have begun to experience functional decline within the past year and/or are beginning to struggle at home. The York Hospital team offers extended services to help older adults who could benefit from a consultation and those who have trouble traveling to their provider’s office due to functional or cognitive issues. To learn more about the Center for Older Adults or to schedule an appointment, call 207-351-2371, Tuesday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., or visit https://www.yorkhospital.com/services/older-adult-care/.

Sweetser mobile crisis intervention services are available 24/7 by calling 1-888-568-1112. For all other services, call the Sweetser PromiseLine at 1.800.434.3000.

Special thanks to the Maine Health Access Foundation for supporting this educational outreach.

The Yellow Tulip Project is about smashing the stigma around mental illness — one tulip at a time. Yellow tulips are a sign of hope. When groups and communities come together, plant a garden, get their hands dirty, and talk about mental illness, hope blooms.

As part of our Zero Suicide Committee’s efforts to acknowledge Mental Health Awareness Month, our staff worked to plant gardens at various Sweetser sites (Adult CSU Saco, Brick Building on the Saco Campus, Brunswick Office, Saco School).

Shout out to staff including Wendi Dubois, Jamie Baburek, Nick Blunier, Laurel Bailey, Kelly Marshall, Val MacDonald, Ashely Frazier, and Mark Laverriere.

SACO – Sweetser has been selected as one of five finalists in a Red Sox Foundation contest during Mental Health Awareness Month.  

The 8^th Annual IMPACT Awards provide New England Red Sox fans the chance to vote for their favorite local mental health non-profit organization for an opportunity to win a grant. The awards will be presented by the Ruderman Family Foundation.

“While 1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness during their lifetime, everyone faces challenges in life that can impact their mental health,” says Kelly Thayer, Sweetser’s Development Officer. “Sweetser hits home runs with clients every day, now we need your votes.”

The top three organizations with the most votes will win a grant: $10,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place and $2,000 for third place.

Individuals can vote once per day through May 31^st using their email address at this link: www.redsox.com/IMPACT.

SACO – The Maine Community Foundation has awarded Sweetser a $15,000 grant to support people living with mental illness or substance use disorder.

This grant comes from the foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to support nonprofit organizations involved in frontline efforts to serve the needs of those most affected by the virus and contain the spread of COVID-19.

“As a nonprofit, grants like this are a critical lifeline to ensuring high quality services reach every corner of our state,” says Justin Chenette, Sweetser’s communications & public relations director. “The pandemic has heightened an even greater need to provide help and hope to more children, adults, and families in our communities.”

Sweetser is one of the largest providers of mental and behavioral health in the state, reaching approximately 20,000 children, adults and family members each year.

To learn more about Sweetser’s services and how to support their mission, visit sweetser.org.

The 16^th annual Cabin Fever Art Show once again found success as an online auction. This is the second year the event, which ran March 17-27, has been virtual.

The event shines a spotlight on the artwork of artists who self-identify as having lived experience with mental health, substance use or trauma. Each artist receives the full purchase price for their artwork.

This year 27 Maine artists entered 96 pieces of art in the auction! 62 pieces of art sold, raising over $1800 for artists and $142 for the art program at the Eslie J. Parquette School at Sweetser through the donation of six works of art.

Thanks to all who participated!

Did you know our students tap trees, boil the sap, and produce tasty maple syrup?

Sweetser School student, Elijah, shows us the process of making maple syrup from start to finish. This is part of the experiential program right on our Saco campus.

In honor of March being National Social Work Month, we’re featuring a few of our staff members making a difference as they share their reasons for joining the field.

Meet Jamie Cooper. Jamie is a school-based clinician at C.K. Burns School and Saco Middle School. She has been with Sweeter off and on for over 20 years.

“I had to change my major quite a lot in college. I had a feeling that I wanted to do this, but I wasn’t quite sure. I had grown up kind of poor and didn’t really have many resources. I knew I wanted to make a difference somehow. School never came easy. I knew I wanted to work with kids. When I finally went through the doors and entered my first social work class it was sort of like coming home and I just knew that this was where I was supposed to be.”

Watch the Jamie’s full story …

Next, meet Dustin Spencer-L’Heureux, a clinician behavioral health specialist out of Lewiston.  He has a Masters in Social Work, Clinical Condition from UNE, sits on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and has been with Sweetser for a year and a half.

“Since I was about 10 years old, I wanted to be a therapist. I had a lot of personal experience with mental health both personally and within my family. Social work incorporated advocacy, something that I’ve always been passionate about. Very involved with fighting for human rights with the LGBTQ+ community and advocating for disability rights. Music is something I can incorporate into my social work. I partially use it as a way to build rapport with clients. I also use it as a way to communicate with clients that might have a harder time communicating in a traditional way. Sometimes a song can speak to how a person is feeling without a need for any other communication.”

Finally, meet Emily Ostrow, a school-based clinician in MSAD #60 since October 2019. She earned a Masters in Social Work, clinical program, from Simmons University in Boston. Her Dad was in this same field.

“I always loved helping people. I was not a traditional graduate student. It took a long time and I had to work through grad school. I didn’t realize how clinical you can get as a social worker and I’m very clinical. I get to be collaborative with doctors, teachers, and parents. As a mother with two young children, being in a school-setting just made sense. I like feeling valued and I think as a social worker in a school in particular, you have a very unique role. I really appreciate that people know what I do, come to me for it, and that I get to do it. I am very proud of social work. I definitely want anyone who is drawn to it, to at least look into because we need them.”