Branford Lions Club donates $1,000 to BHcare's Clothing Bank

Contributed photo

BHcare's Clothing Bank recently received a $1,000 donation from the Branford Lions Club. 

The money was raised during an annual Octoberfest event. The Branford Lions Club has been a loyal supporter of the Clothing Bank for many years.

For more than 35 years, BHcare has been providing hope and help for individuals, families, and children affected by mental illness, domestic violence, and substance abuse. 

The BHcare Clothing Bank is an outreach program of BHcare that provides clothing to those in need. 

Thanks to generous donors, the Clothing Bank supplies clothing, shoes, accessories, baby gear, linens and personal care items for than 3,000 individuals and families each year. 

Clothing Bank clients can visit monthly and select several articles of clothing for each family member for a nominal charge of $20 per year. 

We need the help of the community for both donations and volunteers to assist at the Clothing Bank. 

For more information contact Jim Lamb at jlamb@bhcare.org or 203-641-5638.

The Clothing Bank is located in the Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Service Center, 30 Harrison Ave., Branford. 

Hours are Monday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Regional community provider

BHcare is a regional community provider of behavioral health, addiction prevention, and domestic violence services for the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Greater New Haven, and Shoreline communities. 

For more information, visit www.bhcare.org.

This is a press release from BHcare.   

BHcare, agencies to host presentation on gambling at Orange venue

ORANGE - BHcare’s Alliance for Prevention & Wellness along with Middlesex County Substance Abuse Council, South Central CT Substance Abuse Council, Problem Gambling Services, and DMHAS will host “The Intersection of Youth Gaming and Gambling” Sept. 28 from 9-11:30 a.m. at Grassy Hill Country Club.

This free presentation will explore youth gambling, gaming, and Internet use and how they relate to other risk behaviors. 

Guest speakers include: Marc Potenza, PhD, MD, Professor of Psychiatry in the Child Study Center and of Neuroscience, Director, Center of Excellence in Gambling Research, Yale University School of Medicine; Rayallen Berman, B.S. Program Coordinator, Southeastern Regional Action Council; Jeremy Wampler, LCSW, LADC Program Director DMHAS Problem Gambling Services and Pam Mautte, Director, Alliance for Prevention & Wellness. 

CEUs are available. Register today at: http://bit.ly/youthgambling2017. 

For more information contact Christelle Aube, 475-222-6035/sccsac@aol.com, Pam Mautte, 203-736-8566/pmautte@bhcare.org, or Betsey Chadwick, 860-347-5959/betsey@mcsaac.org.

The Alliance for Wellness and Prevention is a program of BHcare. For more information, visit www.APW-CT.org.

This is a press release from BHcare, a regional community provider of behavioral health, addiction prevention, and domestic violence services for the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Greater New Haven, and Shoreline communities.  

For more information, visit www.bhcare.org.

FADE to hold overdose awareness event at Shelton Riverwalk

Proceeds to benefit Alliance for Prevention and Wellness

SHELTON - Fight Against Drugs Everywhere (FADE) will hold its second annual overdose awareness walk at 10 a.m. Sept. 24 at the Shelton Pavilion and Riverwalk. 

Registration begins at 8 a.m. followed by a pre-walk presentation at 9 a.m. 
All proceeds benefit BHcare’s Alliance for Prevention and Wellness.

The walk is being held to raise awareness of overdoses, and to acknowledge and support the grief felt by families and friends who have lost a loved one. 
Drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths continue to rise at an alarming rate. More than 120 people die every day in the U.S. from an opioid overdose. 

Join the walk to help end the epidemic and save lives. Register today at http://bit.ly/FADEwalk16. 

The Alliance for Prevention and Wellness, a program of BHcare, is a public/private partnership comprised of community leaders and citizens who develop and carry out strategies to reduce alcohol, tobacco, drug use, suicide, and risky behaviors, and to promote good mental health among youth and adults through community education, community mobilization, public awareness, and advocacy in the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Greater New Haven and surrounding communities. 

For more information, please visit www.APW-CT.org.


This is a press release from BHcare.

VSAAC to change name to Alliance for Prevention & Wellness

Community program is part of BHcare

ANSONIA - BHcare’s Greater Valley Substance Abuse Action Council will become the Alliance for Prevention & Wellness on Aug. 1. 

The new mission of the program will be: We foster positive mental health by preventing substance misuse and other health-risk behaviors and by building resources that promote wellness.  

The decision to change the name was decided by a committee made up various community members including Michael Gulish, Chair, BHcare Board of Directors, John Scott, concerned citizen, Nancy Phund, Director, Woodbridge Youth and Family Services, Bill Nimons, Treasurer, BHcare Board of Directors, Jack Walsh, President/CEO Valley United Way, Mark Holden, local business owner and BHcare board member, Carol Cruz, Recovery Community, Veronica Parsloe, Parent Child Resource Center, Joni Nordstrom, Bethany Orange Woodbridge Drug and Alcohol Council and VSAAC staff.

“We felt it was necessary for the program’s name to reflect all that we do,” said Pam Mautte, Director of VSAAC. “VSAAC has a long history of substance abuse prevention activities and continues to expand its programs to address substances of abuse, suicide, risky behaviors and to promote good mental health. Our service area continues to grow throughout the Lower Naugatuck Valley and Greater New Haven. The Alliance for Prevention & Wellness is a direct result of our donors’ and community partners’ commitment to improving our communities,” Mautte said. 

VSAAC was formed in 1990 as a result of a community retreat held by the Valley United Way with concerned citizens to address substance abuse issues in the Valley. 
It operates as one of 13 Regional Action Councils across the State of Connecticut. 

The program has engaged churches, schools, businesses, human service agencies, neighborhood organizations, government offices, law enforcement, and concerned citizens of all ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds in prevention activities. 
The program maintains strong collaborative relationships with area police departments, the local prevention councils, social service agencies, and youth service bureaus and has an extensive repertoire of culturally competent substance abuse/high-risk behavior prevention programs. 

Over the past 25 years, VSAAC helped more than 150,000 youth and adults in our communities.

The Alliance for Wellness and Prevention is a program of BHcare. 

For more information, visit APW-CT.org.

BHcare is a regional community provider of behavioral health, addiction prevention, and domestic violence services for the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Greater New Haven and Shoreline communities.  

For more information, visit www.bhcare.org.


This is a press release from BHcare. 

Statewide walk to raise addiction awareness slated in Meriden

BHcare to mark May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services' official to visit

ANSONIA - As part of BHcare’s May is Mental Health Awareness Month activities, a luncheon will be held May 11 at noon at the Ansonia National Guard Armory, 5 State St. 

Guest speaker will be Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Commissioner, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

There will be a light lunch followed by a question and answer period. 

The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to Phyllis Kaplan, 203-736-2601 Ext. 1232.

For more information about BHcare’s May is Mental Health Month activities and events, visitwww.BHcare.org.

BHcare is a regional community provider of behavioral health, addiction prevention, and domestic violence services for the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Greater New Haven and Shoreline communities. 

For more information, visit www.BHcare.org.

This is a press release from BHcare.