In a study done in 2023 by the American Psychology Association, 41 percent of people reported elevated stress levels during the holiday season. News Center Maine interviewed Sweetser’s Senior Director of Public Relations & Advancement Justin Chenette about some ways to look after yourself during the holidays.
“This can also help address the children who end up languishing in ER’s for weeks if not months on end because their acuity and illness are too much to be managed at home or in the current child residential structure that we have,” said Jayne Van Bramer, president and CEO at Sweetser.
Sweetser’s Senior Director of Community-Based Services for Cumberland County, Joey Rossignol, appeared on WMTW’s weekly Mental Health Moment segment to discuss the benefits of our Behavioral Health Home services for adults.
After the opening of Sweetser’s Lewiston Hope & Healing Center, we submitted an Op-Ed to the Press Herald about the importance of the services we are now offering and how this expansion will help not just Lewiston but everyone throughout Androscoggin County. Check out the published editorial below.
Sweetser is starting to promote the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States. This shorter phone number will make it easier for people to remember and access mental health crisis services. Much like people have it fully engrained to call 911 during emergencies to be connected with public safety officials, the goal is to do the same thing with 988 for mental health support. This will hopefully reduce barriers to getting help when someone needs it and get them in touch with local providers like Sweetser, as the largest provider of mobile crisis services in our state.
Sweetser’s Senior Director of Public Relations & Advancement, Justin Chenette, was interviewed on WMTW’s Mental Health Moment segment to talk about why this number will be lifesaving.
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:
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.
Shout out to Marc Motors Nissan in Sanford for generously donating $5 from every oil change during the month of October. The fundraiser brought in over $2,700 to support Sweetser programs through the Mental Health Matters Fund, which ensures treatment is available regardless of someone’s ability to pay. Last year, Sweetser provided nearly $1 million in care to individuals and families in need of mental health services who didn’t have the ability to pay. This included Mainers who are uninsured and underinsured.
We thank Marc Motors for their generous support and appreciate their commitment to supporting those in need of mental health services.
As we approach the holiday season, some individuals can struggle with their mental health during this time of the year. In fact, 64% of individuals living with a mental illness felt that their conditions worsened around the holidays. Sweetser’s Senior Director of Public Relations & Advancement Justin Chenette, spoke to WMTW on their weekly Mental Health Moment TV segment about the topic.
On this past week’s Mental Health Moment TV segment, Sweetser’s President & CEO Jayne Van Bramer spoke about Sweetser’s new Hope and Healing Center in Lewiston and how this Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic will help the area with their mental health and recovery needs. Watch below.
Sweetser’s President & CEO Jayne Van Bramer joined other industry leaders for a critical discussion on the future of Maine’s tourism and hospitality workforce. The Tourism Workforce Summit took place at Thomas College last month and was organized by the Maine Tourism Association. Jayne spoke about the impact mental health has on the hospitality industry.