Senior Visitor Training
Saturday, April 16 (9 am – 1:30 pm)
Thursday, April 21 (9 am – 1:30 pm)
Thursday, May 19 (9 am – 1:30 pm)
Saturday, May 21 (9 am – 1:30 pm)
Thursday, June 16 (9 am – 1:30 pm)
Saturday, June 25 (9 am – 1:30 pm)
Community Give
Support MHAF at this year’s Community Give on May 3rd.
MHAF Game Night
Come to The Foundry at 2324 Plank Rd. On March 10 at 6 for board games and free food!
Making a Difference
“As we reach the end of the year, we want to reflect on what matters. We want to make a difference.”
A soldier returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder. A new mother struggling with post-partum anxiety. A senior facing a long winter alone, isolated in a house where family and friends have dwindled into memories. A depression that lingers around the edges of everyday life, a constant danger to the health and safety of its victims. Mental health crises come in many different forms and can strike at many different stages of life.
You can make a big difference in the lives of our friends and neighbors living with mental illness by supporting Mental Health America of Fredericksburg (MHAF).
Every dollar donated is used to help local people in need. Here’s how MHAF helps:
- MHAF’s HelpLine is the only mental health information and referral service in our region connecting over 400 callers monthly with the resources they need.
- Our Senior Visitors program provides isolated elderly citizens with free, weekly in-home visits by trained volunteers who offer companionship and supportive services so they can remain independent in their own home environment.
- Our teen Suicide Prevention Education program reached over 3,000 local high school students in its pilot year and with enough support will be expanded throughout the region.
- Our programs help people stay well and productive through support groups, education, advocacy, and peer to peer reinforcement.
We need your help to keep up this good work. MHAF receives no federal or state funding. Through diligent stewardship, we are able to use 93 cents of every dollar received to actually help people in our community with mental health needs.
- $50 will give 5 Helpline callers needed mental health resources.
- $250 will provide suicide prevention education to 20 teens.
- $500 will help 10 isolated seniors not be lonely during the holidays.
Your gift is tax-deductible. Please consider donating online during this season. The MHAF Board and staff, on behalf of the people we serve, thank you for your continued support. Together we can fight the good fight against these insidious diseases that are suffered in silence by so many.
With appreciation and best wishes for the holiday season,
Rita Girard
"Above the Darkness" Becomes "Another Day" in 2016
Thank You.
Those were the words that the volunteers and staff for Above the Darkness: Campaign for Suicide Prevention heard from participant after participant. It was an expression born from the experience of families and friends who found a place of comfort and hope at the event. Community was found at the memory wall, talking with others who shared the experience of loss, and walking together to in memory of those they loved. Families and friend took new steps of healing and solace at Spotsylvania Courthouse Village on October 17th.
Tireless work by a large number of volunteers and sponsors made the day special for many still dealing with the loss that comes from suicide. Dancers and musicians lent their creative expression to the event. Special thanks to the following premier sponsors:
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David Girard Vineyards
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Family Counseling Centers for Recovery
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Apple Home Improvement
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Embracing Health
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Rappahannock Area Services Community Board
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Rappahannock Electric Cooperative
A New Name:
Another Day, Campaign for Suicide Prevention
Along with the $20,000 raised to sponsor local suicide prevention and recovery efforts, the day gave birth to a new name for what will become an annual event. Another Day, to be held on October 15th, 2016, will carry forward this new tradition of healing, and working to raise awareness and prevention of suicide. It’s not too early to put this date on your calendar as investment in a healthier community.
Prevention Efforts Go Forward
With the funds raised from the event, local prevention classes will be funded in a number of local schools. These classes will equip students to identify and respond to signs of depression in their classmates.
MHAF Staff and Board would also like to thank the many other community supporters who made the event possible. Please support these businesses and organizations who give so much to our community:
