Listen to an interview with Sweetser’s Medical Director Marc Kaplan in an interview with Celeste Baranyi of WBLM 102.9 to learn many reasons to support this year’s Sweetser/KeyBank Sold On Kids Auction, held online again this year.

Sweetser President & CEO Debra Taylor has announced that she will be stepping down from her role after more than 20 years with the organization.

“I have made the decision to pass the baton to new leadership after serving the organization in many capacities throughout the years,” said Taylor. “It has been my absolute pleasure to work with our staff members, donors and volunteers providing services that are needed now more than ever before.”

Sweetser Board Chair Jessica Demers said, “We are appreciative of Deb’s leadership and contributions to Sweetser throughout the years,” adding that the Board has initiated a search for the organization’s next President & CEO. In the meantime, Sweetser Chief Program Officer Jim Martin will support the transition leading day to day operations.

Sweetser is a community mental health organization, based in Saco, with services statewide for clients of all ages in need of services in mental and behavioral health, intellectual and developmental disabilities, recovery, and education. In addition, Sweetser is the largest provider of mobile crisis services provider in the state. Visit sweetser.org.

In recognition of Mental Health Month in May, Sweetser is partnering with 10 Domino’s Pizza stores in Maine owned by Lee and Amanda Prior to deliver an important message that resources are available. Thousands of Mental Health Month 2021 flyers will be delivered on pizza boxes throughout Maine promoting the Maine Crisis Line, Intentional Warm Line and the myStrength online wellness tool.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced on February 5, 2021 that it has awarded Sweetser a $2.9 million grant to develop a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCHBC) in midcoast Maine. The award will expand services Sweetser delivers in Sagadahoc, northern coastal Cumberland County, and parts of Lincoln and Androscoggin counties.

Sweetser is one of the first two providers in the state of Maine to be recognized as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic.

SAMHSA released grants to 134 clinics in the nation, enabling them to implement comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment by becoming a CCBHC. The grants are funded from the $4.5 billion allocated to SAMHSA as part of the COVID-19 relief package passed in December. With the addition of this grant funding, there are now 340 CCBHCs across the country – nearly a 50% increase from just days ago.

National Council for Behavioral Health President and CEO Chuck Ingoglia said: “This funding will dramatically improve the health and welfare of people in hundreds of communities across the country. CCBHCs provide vital services by increasing access to evidence-based substance use and mental health treatment services, including 24/7 crisis care. Now, thanks to the commitment made by these clinics, people in 40 states, plus D.C. and Guam, will be able to access a CCBHC. We also thank SAMHSA for their support and recognition of the value CCBHCs provide, particularly for vulnerable individuals. This is an incredible step forward for health care in America, and we look to continuing our work to highlight the opportunities provided by the CCBHC model in every community across the country.”

Sweetser is offering myStrength — a free and confidential online wellness tool with activities that individuals and families can use to cope with the stress and anxiety brought on by the pandemic.

myStrength Online Wellness Tool & Activities Courtesy of Sweetser

If Jenna Booth could have a conversation with her 12-year-old self she would have this to say: “Be unique. Embrace your differences. It is so important to love yourself. Self-love can make a huge impact on mental health and wellbeing. Your appearance doesn’t define who you truly are – it is what is on the inside that counts.”

Now at 16, she is starting her senior year at Cheverus High School and is passionate about bringing awareness to the importance of treatment for eating disorders, something that impacted her younger self.

Jenna created Truly Me as a way to share her story and connect with young women and men. She wants them to appreciate their uniqueness just as she learned to do and use that to battle fears and overcome hurdles. That is the driving force behind the name and the mission.

“There is only one you. Look at yourself in the mirror and to truly believe that you are uniquely enough, emotionally and physically, said Jenna. Her message has caught on with others her age who buy Truly Me bracelets and sweatshirts. But she has received a positive response from people of all ages.

It was vital that I surrounded myself with positivity. Having a strong independent support system built with family, friends, and an outpatient program helped make up the strong foundation I needed; to rebuild my self-esteem along with my physical and mental health. My hope is to create a safe, supportive, and structured environment for those who struggle with self-love.

Jenna will bring her message to a broader stage as she competes for Miss Maine Teen USA competition scheduled for November 2020.

If you’d like to support Jenna’s efforts and raise funds for Sweetser’s New England Eating Disorders (NEED) Program, visit her website at: https://trulyme1.my-free.website/

Sweetser Medical Director Marc Kaplan, DO, submitted a letter to the editor to the Portland Press Herald on behalf of Sweetser promoting the use of Telemedicine as a good fit for mental health services.

Even in the most challenging of times,

including now during a pandemic not experienced in a lifetime,

it does not go unnoticed how we treat others.

Sweetser values dignity, respect and compassion for all people.

 Our caring and compassionate staff light the way

to hope and healing in the communities we serve.

Please take a moment of silence for all those who are oppressed, discriminated against, treated unjustly, treated inhumanely, psychologically and physically hurt and worse. Racism has risen to the surface of everything in our country and now is the time for shared responsibility in making our world truly better by ending discrimination in our country.  

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” — Nelson Mandela, from his memoir titled Long Walk to Freedom

Sweetser stands with those peacefully protesting for racial justice in our country.  We will challenge ourselves to seek to learn how we can better support the communities we serve.  Our newspapers, airwaves, inboxes and social media feeds are filled with strong, passionate statements of solidarity – and ours is one more. Our voices are stronger when we gather them together. Let’s resolve to turn our words into actions of undoing racism and make our country a better place for ALL people to be. 

As Sweetser has for its long history, we are here to care for those who have experienced trauma.  Meeting the mission of our organization is a way we can be part of the healing that must take place.  Now, more than ever, we must live up to Sweetser’s vision of helping people create promising futures.

Sweetser has been a part of the national Zero Suicide effort since 2013. In January 2020, Sweetser’s outcomes and efforts were recognized in an article on the Zero Suicide website.

New England Eating Disorders Medical Director Patrice Lockhart, MD, talked with future health professionals at the University of New England about treating eating disorders in a weight-based world.