A local group will be putting a face to mental health awareness — one of hope and understanding, not fear — during a talk next week at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
The Rays of Hope Committee is bringing in Gina Calhoun, who received treatment at the now-defunct Harrisburg State Hospital and is now a successful medical professional. She’ll give a talk at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Harriett B. Wick Chapel. She is the national director for wellness and recovery education for the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery.
“I think the hope is to get a greater understanding of what mental health actually means and not be afraid of it,” said Nicholas A. Kicior, who is the director of the Peer Support Services Program and an outpatient mental health therapist at Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems. He’s also part of the Rays of Hope Committee.
Many area residents are in need of or receive services for mental health, Kicior said.
Yet, is mental health really understood? Probably not, Kicior said.
Look no further than Calhoun to get some insight into mental health. She went to the Harrisburg State Hospital for many years, then left to live on the streets. She returned, this time to provide peer support to patients as the Harrisburg State Hospital was being closed, according to her biography from the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery’s website.
Supportive relationships are what helped Calhoun in her recovery journey — concentrating on what’s strong, not what’s wrong.
Calhoun is a certified peer support specialist. She has also worked for the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
She has a decorated professional background. She received the distinguished advocates award from the Pennsylvania Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services and the Timothy J. Coakley Behavioral Health Leadership Award. Calhoun was also selected as the state representative for the National Pillars of Peer Support Summit and chosen to be the keynote speaker for the National Veteran’s Conference and the National Association of Peer Specialist Conference.
Kicior said, “We are trying to send the message of the importance of whole health, equating caring for your physical health and mental health in the same way.”
The free event is presented by Rays of Hope and the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery and is being cosponsored by the Master’s of Social Work Program and Counseling Services at Pitt-Bradford. Rays of Hope is a collaborative effort, made up of consumers, community members and mental health agencies that have a mission is to eliminate the stigma of mental health issues through education, empowerment, recovery and resiliency.
Kicior said that usually one talk is scheduled a year, and Calhoun is the choice this year.
“The space is not intimidating,” he said, adding that in past years the event took place at Bradford Regional Medical Center. That’s a location that would be a deterrent for people, he said. This setting is more welcoming.
For more information, contact Kicior at 814-817-1400 or Kicior@beacon-light.org.
