Gathering Hope House

Programs: The vision of the center is to be a consumer-run leader in mental health recovery for lorain county through partnering with the community and families through programs supporting health that will emphasize acquisition of life skills, education, advocacy that promotes awareness and acceptance in combating stigma, and responsiveness to legislation. Support groups facilitated by gathering hope house include: kens group- ken's group was created in honor of a gathering hope house member who committed suicide after having a really bad weekend. The group meets every monday morning as a way to check in from the weekend and to check where everybody is at mentally. It's a great way for members to share their feelings about their weekend and to help those that have had a bad weekend and to talk their issues out. Men's group- men's group is an important way for males to get together and feel comfortable opening up about "men issues" without women present. Men's group challenges the myth that you and you alone are the only guy that has ever dealt with challenge x, y or z. Men's group is a positive way to find common ground amongst other men and a good way to eliminate barriers that might exist when the opposite sex is present. Women's group- women's group is an important way for females to get together and feel comfortable opening up about "women issues" without men present. Women's group challenges the myth that you and you alone are the only girl that has ever dealt with challenge x, y or z. Women's group is a positive way to find common ground amongst other females and a good way to eliminate barriers that might exist when the opposite sex is present. Diabetes support group- diabetes can seem to be an overwhelming disease because it impacts so many areas of your daily life. It's important to have support from family, friends and from other people with diabetes. Don't underestimate the importance of peer support. Our diabetes support group is open up to diabetics and non-diabetics members looking for answers and information on diabetes. Spirituality group- spiritual values and religious practices are important in the lives of our members. Spirituality is an important aspect of mental health, therefore important that we incorporate spirituality in our recovery center. Our spirituality discussion groups are open, non- judge mental, and confidential. We welcome all religions, cultures, and ways of life to be included in our discussion groups. Our group is not a focus on religion, more so a focus on the spirit man/women. Solution for wellness- a program that offers information and tips on healthy living including nutrition, fitness, and relationships. Different people have different ways of describing a healthy lifestyle. In general, it means living your life in a way that helps you to be both physically and emotionally healthy. Many things go together to make up a healthy lifestyle. Our group aims to discuss healthy ways of living and encourages members to express what works and doesn't work for them. Hope group- hope group is an open discussion that encourages members to have hope. Our group explains what it means to have hope and the benefits it gives for mental health recovery. We encourage our members to each share their thoughts on hope and what drives them to be hopeful even in their darkest times. Art group- the benefits of the art group at the gathering hope house is for the members to freely express themselves while they aid in their recovery. This diverse community mental health art group is a mechanism and coping tool that encourages developmental approaches toward overcoming barriers in their recovery process. Art supplies, tools and instructions are provided to help even the less developed artist create works of art through their own expression and creativity. Education providied by gathering hope house include: wrap- (wellness recovery action plan) wrap is a peer-led education and support program where you can learn about the causes and treatment of mental illness, self-help skills and recovery. Wrap is a self-designed plan that teaches you how to keep well, identify and monitor symptoms and to use simple, safe, personal skills, supports, and strategies to reduce or eliminate symptoms. Avert "being safe class"- the avert group is a personal safety awareness training class for men and women with developmental disabilities. Avert sans for abuse & violence education &recognition training. The class designed to educate our members on all types of abuse, so they are aware if someone is mistreating them and what to do if the situation occurs. Computer class- our computer class aim to teach our members basic clerical functions on the computer and how to use microsoft applications; such as, word, excel, and powerpoint. We also help members create e-mail accounts and assist them in filling out job applications. Smoking cessation- encourages the process of discontinuing tobacco smoking. Tobacco contains nicotine, which is addictive, making the process of quitting often very prolonged and difficult. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide, and quitting smoking significantly reduces the risk of dying from tobacco-related diseases such as heart disease and lung cancer. Our smoking cessation group is tailored to mental health recovery. Our goal is to educate our members the risks of smoking tobacco products and introduce healthy approaches and goal planning on quitting tobacco use.