We held a grand opening event with our friends from the Lewiston Auburn Chamber of Commerce that included Senator Peggy Rotundo, Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, Auburn Mayor Jeff Harmon, Lewiston City Councilor Scott Harriman, Lewiston Fire Chief Mark Caron, Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson, Lewiston’s Police Department Sergeant Desiree Michaud, U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ State Office Representative Carlene Tremblay, Congressman Jared Golden’s District Representative Scott Dresser, and many more.
Behavioral health provider Sweetser has opened a new mental health and substance use clinic in Lewiston.
Sweetser’s Hope & Healing Center has opened next to Just-In Time Recreation and will provide walk-in hours for an array of evidence-based services for those who need both immediate help and Mainers who need easy access to professional support.
Thanks to a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and support from the Maine Department of Health & Human Services, Sweetser was able to open this Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC).
CCBHC’s are designed to increase timely access to wraparound mental health and substance use services in areas that otherwise lack accessibility.
“Having a central, physical space located in service center communities will reduce barriers to accessing treatment, expand the type of services offered, and increase the number of people served,” said Kristen Cianelli, Sweetser’s Director of Community-Based Services. “Think of this center as a mental health version of a walk-in care clinic, a one stop shop for all things mental health and recovery.”
Last year, nearly 2,000 residents throughout Androscoggin County were helped by Sweetser’s mental health services. This center will enable Sweetser to serve at least 700 more Mainers in need.
Center services include:
- Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Use Screening, Assessment and Diagnosis
• 24/7 Mobile Crisis Response
• Case Management Services
• Peer Support Services
• Outpatient MH and SUD Treatment, including MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment)
CCBHCs across the country have dramatically increased access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment. Sweetser operates two other centers, one that opened earlier this year in Sanford and the other in Brunswick.
“In the year since the Lewiston mass shooting, the long road to hope and healing isn’t over. We have served the Lewiston area for decades, but to meet the long-term mental health needs of the community and expand treatment to more people, we have to literally meet people where they’re at,” says Sweetser’s President & CEO Jayne Van Bramer. “Together we are writing a new chapter of hope and healing, and we will all be forever Lewiston Strong.”
Sweetser’s Hope & Healing Center is located at 20 Mollison Way in Lewiston. Walk-in hours are available Mondays and Wednesdays from 9-3 starting the first week of December.
Mainers can access mental health and recovery support by calling the Promiseline at 1-800-434-3000 or emailing at info@sweetser.org. Learn more at www.LewistonHealing.org.
