Programs...
Mental Health Association
Mental Health Association
P.O. Box 16246 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 919.942.8083
Programs...
The Compeer program brings trained volunteers and people living with mental illness together in one-to-one friendship. The national program started in 1973 in Rochester, New York. In 1982, the National Institute of Mental Health chose Compeer as a model program and funded the development of similar programs throughout the nation. Today Compeer is a model mental health organization with over 100 affiliates in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
The Community Backyard works in Orange and Chatham Counties to ensure that youth with mental health and substance abuse needs have access to high quality services right here in their own backyards.
This project seeks to enhance the sense of well being for individuals living with mental illness through creative activity, social interaction, and a heightened awareness of natural rhythms.The Community Garden has enjoyed great success since it began in 2005. A plot was developed at Northside Clinic with the help of volunteers, and the flowers and herbs have been enjoyed by many people. Our garden has added colorand life to the campus, we have learned a good deal about gardening, and the support and companionship we have provided each other is invaluable. The group has participated in a few area events, including the Rosemary Festival at the NC Botanical Gardens, having sold herbed vinegars, potpourri, herb blends, and a wreath, all of which we created from plants we grew in the garden, using proceeds for a celebratory harvest meal for group participants.
For more information about this program, email us at info@mhaorangeco.org.
Many special thanks to Carol Genovese, Kurt Mueller, Carol Gunther-Mohr,
Katie Wright and Dickinson Garden Center for your generosity and ongoing support.
Community Backyard
Northside Community Garden
Please consider donating to the Mental Health Association in Orange County by clicking the GuideStar link...
in Orange County
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Community Backyard
The Mental Health Association in Orange County provides a variety of programs and opportunities for the community-at-large. We currently support four programs and our program options expand as community needs change and funding sources become available. The four working programs are:
To learn more about each program please click on the program title above.
Northside Community Garden
Please consider donating to the Mental Health Association in Orange County by clicking the GuideStar link...
Please consider donating to the Mental Health Association in Orange County by clicking the GuideStar link...
Compeer
Please consider donating to the Mental Health Association in Orange County by clicking the GuideStar link...
Parents of school-age children who suffer with
emotional and behavioral challenges and other mental
health issues can find support and specialized training
from the Family Advocacy Network (FAN). This unique
program administered by the MHAOC, originally was
initiated by the System of Care in the Fall of 2000, and it
offers a very resolution-focused approach to family needs.
Advocates and Peer Parents work one-on-one with families to help guide them through a crisis, or to help with other needs, such as with IEPs and 504 Plans at one of our local school systems, or when the juvenile justice court system is involved.
The FAN also works on collaborative projects with other area agencies to create training opportunities for parents that prepare them to appropriately cope, or make decisions about their child's treatment and other needs. Through the FAN, parents can also participate in specialized course work, such as the Strengthening Families Program - a seven-week class, or, monthly drop-in trainings in our "Meet the Experts" series and support sessions.
Family Advocacy Network (FAN)
Family Advocacy Network
Compeer
Pro Bono Counseling Network
The Mental Health Association in Orange County is proud to announce its newest program in 2009, the Pro Bono Counseling Network (PBCN). Michelle Johnson, MSW/LCSW, has been hired as the Program Manager for this new venture. She works to recruit area therapists in an effort to provide pro bono counseling to people who are underinsured or uninsured in Orange and Chatham Counties. The program was launched in March, recognizing the many therapists who had already committed to donate time helping individuals in our community.
The program works to fill the gap in mental health services created in recent years by failed state reform efforts and state budget cuts. In the PBCN, Michelle interviews potential clients on behalf of therapists and matches referrals to therapists based on intake information that is helpful to both the consumer and the therapist.
The PBCN will recruit therapists year-round. Any licensed therapist in Orange or Chatham Counties who would like to become involved in this vital program and give back to the community, or anyone feeling a need for therapeutic contact who either has no insurance or whose insurance does not adequately cover therapy should contact Michelle at 919.942.8083, or email her at michelle@mhaorangeco.org.
About the Program Manager
Michelle C. Johnson, MSW/LCSW, is the former Associate Director for the Orange County Rape Crisis Center where she supervised client service and education programs and also coordinated the short-term therapy program. She has worked at UNC-Chapel Hill in the Counseling Center for several years and prior to that she was a family specialist at East Chapel Hill High School. Michelle has a private practice in Chapel Hill and specializes in the areas of trauma, sexual violence and eating disorders. Additionally, Michelle works with a small training group, Dismantling Racism Works (DRWorks), an organization in the triangle focusted on working with groups and the community on understanding institutional and cultural racism. Michelle graduated with a degree in psychology from the College of William and Mary in 1996 and received her Masters in Social Work in 1998 from UNC-Chapel Hill.
