Mental Health Association one of 12 United Way partners

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of informational article focusing on the United Way of Putnam County partners in the 2016 ThanksGIVING campaign under way.

As we look to the future of MHAPC, we are reminded of the touching stories where our services have made an impact.

Stories like the man who came into the office this spring to thank us for providing a support hotline, as it helps him through his life, and although he’s not suicidal any more, it’s comforting to know someone’s there with whom to talk.

Turns out he’s interested in history, especially Greencastle’s, and so we gave him a tour of our floor of the Opera House and told him how cool it was to see the balcony stairs and seating area, especially from our storeroom.

He was so kind, engaged and genuinely pleased to have finally connected with someone in our local office. While I was calm and collected during our conversation, I must admit I tear up when I tell this story.

And as I work with our volunteers, more stories pour out, like the great impact of our Puppet Power presentations. Did you know we served more than 2,000 students throughout Putnam County just this year with this program? How great to help empower and educate our youth with meaningful mental health topics through puppet plays. You should see how their faces light up, both in delight and recognition of the subject at hand.

The call I took today was from a person looking for the right mental health resources. Not uncommon. But she’d been bounced around from agency to agency, and turned to us because she’d utilized our services through the “Helping Children Through Divorce” class.

I did my research for her, found the answer she needed, returned her call and at the end of our conversation she said (paraphrasing here), “I really have to thank you … You’re the only one who took the time, really listened and helped me find the answers I needed today. I really appreciate that.”

Whether it’s reaching out to the community about timely subjects like stress management and suicide awareness or helping our educators with professional development classes on a variety of mental health related subjects, Mental Health America of Putnam County strives to improve the quality of life of our residents.

We hope you join us in our partnership with United Way to bring vital and enriching services to our community. Like the clients cited earlier, we all have a lot for which to be thankful.