The team at KeyBank, a longtime partner and supporter of Sweetser, helped beautify the outside of our adult crisis building on our Saco campus. They did a wonderful job working alongside our facilities team to rake, take away brush and branches, and landscape the front of the building. We can’t thank them enough for all their efforts!

Sweetser’s Zero Suicide Committee organized a team to participate in the University of New England’s Walk to Fight Suicide, an event from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The following staff members participated: Wendi Dubois, Holly Hall and her son, Carol Mundigler and her son, Cheryl Cook, Deb Higgins, Heath Seeley, Jenn Garcia, and Jennifer Ridolfi.

During National Volunteer Month, IDEXX employees volunteered on our Saco school to help beautify the campus.

We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without all our amazing volunteers and corporate groups that help support our mission. We appreciate all you do for us!

Thank you, IDDEXX!

Check out the latest edition of Journey Magazine where our staff member Tom MacElhaney, who works as Cumberland County’s OPTIONS Liaison, talks about how he helps Mainers on their road to recovery.

READ ARTICLE HERE

Our annual Learning Arts Fair on our Saco school campus is always a big hit with students and staff alike. It’s an opportunity to explore additional creative outlets and this year was no exception. Students experienced painting, tattooing, creating charcuterie boards, night photography, horticulture planting and more!

Thank you to the following artists for participating and working with our students:

Nibblesford Cheese Shop

Scott Bruns Boko Maru Tattoo Shop

Drew Fortin Photography

Emma Birtolo Print Making

Musician Mike Corletta

Bob Tkacik of Maine Line Exotics

Thank you to our event sponsor:

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution

A TV ad featuring Nickie Murray, one of Sweetser’s many independent affiliate providers across the state providing care to clients. The spot has been running on Newscenter Maine and WMTW.

If you are a social worker, therapist, or mental health professional who wants to start a private practice, reach out to Jan at jdubois@sweetser.org or by calling 207-294-4477. Sweetser’s Affiliate Network can help with billing, client documentation, quality assurance, referrals, and more. We take the administrative stress away from their true passion of helping our clients. Learn more https://www.sweetser.org/affiliatenetwork.

Watch our maple syrup adventures from our Saco school campus on this episode of MaineLife Media’s Maine Food Story that aired on Newscenter Maine. Their TV crew shadowed a group of our students in demonstrating our experiential learning program.

In the episode the following students were featured:

Thomas
Selena
Sean
Shandi

Shout out to our rockstar Educator & Farm Manager Julia Birtolo for being featured in the piece and her help with coordination. Our Communications Director Justin Chenette stepped in as a guest host for the program.

Sweetser participated in Maine Mariner’s Mental Health Awareness Night with a booth and the dropping of the puck.

From left to right: Carol, Holly, Jayne, Danielle

Sweetser President & CEO Jayne Van Bramer dropped the ceremonial puck at the Maine Mariner’s hockey game in Portland alongside Newscenter Maine reporter Sam Rogers.

WATCH VIDEO OF PUCK DROP

Sweetser staff received a number of free tickets to give away. Below is a list of winners from our staff ticket contest:

• Kim Vincent
• Adele Bailey
• Katrina Anderson
• Andy Coburn
• Luis Morales
• Laurie Agaran
• Savanah Robbins
• Ann Estabrook
• Emily Batson
• Amos Wolven

Sweetser is being proactive through both of our advocacy organizations and lobbyists: Maine Behavioral Health Community Collaborative and the Maine Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services. We are working to support legislation that enhances and builds on our success at Sweetser in addition to making clear the impact of legislation that would add a burden to behavioral health providers like us.

Our President & CEO Jayne Van Bramer and Chief Growth Officer Danielle Parent recently went to the state house in Augusta to testify on several key legislative priorities.

They testified in support of LD 181, a Resolve, Directing the Department of Health and Human Services to Implement Secure Children’s Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility Services.

Review all the testimony from the hearing here:

http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?ld=181&PID=1456&snum=131&sec3

We also wrote this Op-Ed in the Portland Press Herald on the need to bring Maine kids being served in out of state residential treatment facilities back home for the care they deserve and that Maine providers like us can offer with the support of state government.

Read full article

We submitted testimony in support of Rep. Lori Gramlich’s bill LD 435: Resolve, to Ensure the Provision of Medically Necessary Behavioral Health Care Services for Children in Their Homes and Communities.

Review all the testimony from the hearing here: https://legislature.maine.gov/bills/display_ps.asp?PID=1456&snum=131&paper=HP0268#

According to a 2021 study, over 6 million US children and teens (ages 0 to 17) were taking a prescribed psychiatric medication. Of those, over 3 million of them were teenagers. There are many questions, practical and ethical ones, about the risks and benefits of taking medication to treat your mental health. Fortunately, for this episode of NNML, we have a very smart guest who explains so many important things to know and think about when it comes to taking or not taking psychiatric medication. This episode’s guest is Sam Kingsley, a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, who works with kids, teens, and adults to support their mental health.

Listen to Episode 5: