Sweetser News & Events

Learning & Recovery Center Celebrates Five Years

Posted on 06/06/2007 at 12:00 am

In honor of its 5th anniversary, Sweetser’s Learning & Recovery Center will hold an Open House on Tuesday, June 19, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 174 Mere Point Road in Brunswick.   Peer volunteers will share their experiences, answer questions about programs, and give tours of the grounds. Members of the local community are encouraged to attend and see firsthand why Peer Support Services are critical to a consumer’s ability to achieve a productive and fulfilling life despite a mental health disability. Hors d’oeuvres will be served.

In the five years since Sweetser’s Learning & Recovery Center opened its doors to the Greater Brunswick community, it has helped hundreds of people in need. The center offers peer support services, through which individuals who are recovering from mental illnesses and substance abuse issues support each other.

One such person is Joan, who came to the center at a time when she had no hope or self-esteem and felt her life was at a standstill.

“I started volunteering and making friends—something I never had before,” says Joan. “I came to a place that accepted me for who I was. When I get there I feel like I’m home, a place I love to be. The center has given me back a life, friends and a reason to live. Thank you for seeing something in me that I didn’t see in myself.”

From the time a person first contacts the center, he or she ceases to be seen as a person in trouble or need, and are instead viewed as an equal, a peer. If someone is feeling overwhelmed by the stresses of day-to-day life and needs a place to turn, the center provides respite bedrooms as well as a drop-in service.

Peers often come just to talk and relax among familiar faces. When first walking through the door, there is a feeling of home and a strong sense of community and connection. Someone is always there playing a game, sharing their life-changing experiences, or lending an ear. The center also offers group activities, such as basket weaving, ceramics, yoga, crafts, and well-being circle.

The participation of peer volunteers who have experienced mental illnesses is key to the program because it allows a sense of understanding. “They’ve been there, they know,” says Paula, who says that volunteering at the center has completely changed her life, helping her to overcome negative thoughts and other hardships.

Both Joan and Paula continue to work at Sweetser’s Learning & Recovery Center, providing support, comfort and inspiration for other consumers. At this 5th anniversary, Sweetser celebrates the accomplishments of both the center, and of the hundreds of peers who have made great strides in achieving fulfilling, productive lives.

For more information about the Learning & Recovery Center and its open house event, please contact Charlotte Simpson, peer program coordinator,at csimpson@sweetser.org or 373-4277.