When individuals receive treatment for mental health disorders, it helps when the individual assisting on the other end of the phone, session or interaction has been through similar lived experiences. Sweetser’s Director of Recovery Services Alaina Knox spoke to WMTW about what Peer Support Services can offer those in need.

Our Director of Crisis Services, Alyssa Pelchat, received NAMI Maine’s “Caring About Lives in Maine” Award. The award recognizes individuals and organizations that promote suicide prevention through education, stigma reduction, active intervention, or by assisting survivors in the aftermath of death by suicide. Congrats, Alyssa!

Our monthly Mental Health Matters column in Saco Bay News highlights the need for school-based mental health support and why it is at risk in Maine.

Preview:

‘To set the scene, Maine is in the midst of a youth mental health crisis. Maine teen suicide rates exceed the national rates with Maine students who seriously considered suicide increasing to 19%. Nearly half of Maine teen girls reported feeling sad or hopeless with 36% of all Maine high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless. Around 14,000 Mainers ages 12–17 have depression.’

READ FULL COLUMN HERE

Sweetser joined with NEWS CENTER Maine for Let’s Talk About It Night at the Maine Mariners Hockey game on Friday, April 12th at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. The goal of the night was to spread mental health awareness while enjoying an evening of fun! A portion of each ticket sold via a special link supported Sweetser’s programs.

Sweetser Senior Director of HR Holly Hall took the ceremonial first shot:

Check out photos from the night:

When someone is in crisis, it doesn’t always happen in a convenient place or near services. That’s where mobile crisis specialists come in; responding to crisis calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sweetser is the state’s largest provider of these mobile crisis services. Sweetser’s Director of Crisis Services, Alyssa Pelchat, discusses why the program is so critical.

Sweetser Medical Director Dr. Marc Kaplan joined a panel at Deering High School in Portland for a discussion on “Emotional/Mental/Behavioral Health for High School Students: What Families Should Know” on April 9th. 

The event was hosted by Deering High School’s Family Teacher Organization, and aimed to answer questions on how teenagers are doing with their emotional, mental, and behavioral health in 2024 and how families can support their youth.

Are men in a friendship recession? According to polls conducted by the Survey Center on American Life, only 1 in 5 men reported receiving social support from guy friends in the week prior, versus 2 in 5 women. More than half of all men report feeling unsatisfied with the number of friends they have and 20 percent of single men don’t have any close friends. Sweetser’s Medical Director Dr. Marc Kaplan discusses on this Mental Health Moment segment.

Thousands of Mainers are on waiting lists to access various mental health services. One potential solution to that problem is encouraging more individuals to fill open positions with behavioral health providers. Sweetser’s Human Resources Director Carol Mundigler talks about the open positions in the field.

WMTW TV SEGMENT

In our latest Mental Health Moment TV segment on WMTW Channel 8, our Senior Director of Public Relations and Advancement, Justin Chenette, breaks down what a special purpose school is and the impact our Saco K-12 school has on the students we serve.

MAINE PUBLIC RADIO STORY

Powerful story featuring a Sweetser family about the positive impact our school-based therapy services have in over 100 schools across our state and why it’s so important for this program to continue.

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