Joey Monn is pictured with Mental Health Association (MHA) Project Manager Shannon Fisk and the many bags and boxes of food and hygiene products Monn donated to share with MHA participants.

Steven Cobb, Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County (MHA) executive director, opened February’s recovery luncheon with appreciation for Finance Director Jill Marsh’s organizing the event’s “Taste of Italy.”

Marsh recognized MHA Project Manager Shannon Fisk, Joey Monn, and herself as providing the main dishes for the luncheon. Volunteer Betsy Trusel provided the salad, Fisk’s daughter Mia Delcamp made a selection of cookies, and St. Susan Center provided the rolls and butter.

Both Monn and Jamestown’s St. Luke’s Episcopal Church donated many tote bags of personal hygiene products, food, and clothing items to the MHA to distribute among participants.

With help from Recovery Options Made Easy (RecoveryOptionsNY.org), MHA’s warming center is now officially open. Hours are 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. daily through April 30. Like the MHA’s Jamestown program, the warming center is housed in the Gateway Center, 31 Water Street.

Wednesday, May 22, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., is the recently rescheduled date for the Regional Harm Reduction and Xylazine Wound Care Summit that was canceled in January because of the forecasted weather. Co-hosted by MHA with the Northeast and Caribbean Opioid Response Network and New York City’s Columbia School of Nursing, the free event at Celoron’s Chautauqua Harbor Hotel includes breakfast and lunch.

Activity Director Dianne Valvo thanked Alicia Tallmadge for teaching participants how to make jewelry. Valvo and Cobb recognized participants who maintained sobriety for up to more than a year as well as one who met her goal of losing weight. Human Resources Manager Billy Hernandez acknowledged Joseph Cohen for his multiple strides to independence and was in turn recognized by Cohen for his help along that path.

Participant Melita Lyons offered grace before the meal.

The winner of the monthly backpack giveaway was announced, and Bonnie Weber of Be The Change You Want to See in Jamestown made up 100 gift bags to give to participants.

The Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County (MHA) is a peer recovery center offering support groups and individual coaching for people looking to improve their lives, deepen wellness, thrive in recovery, or support those on a recovery path. Peers use their personal stories to help people find recovery in their own lives in their own way.

The MHA commits to radical acceptance, empowerment, and advocacy for community members who struggle with mental health and substance use.

All MHA programs and services are free, including xylazine wound care kits and fentanyl test kits that include Narcan, an over-the-counter opioid overdose treatment that has saved hundreds of lives in Chautauqua County. These are available at both the Dunkirk and Jamestown recovery centers.

The Jamestown center, at Door 14 in the rear of the Gateway Center, 31 Water Street, is open Monday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hours for the north county center at Grace Lutheran Church, 601 Eagle Street in Dunkirk, are 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, and 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

To learn more about the Mental Health Association, call 716-661-9044 or visit MHAChautauqua.org or facebook.com/MHAChautauqua. A schedule with descriptions of MHA’s dozens of groups and classes is at MHAchautauqua.org/groups.