Month: <span>September 2019</span>

September is designated as Suicide Prevention Month and Aroostook Mental Health Center has been partnering with other community organizations to highlight awareness, prevention, and local resources that are available to everyone.

“According to the Maine Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the second leading cause of death for Mainers ages 10-45,” explains Michelle Ferris, Director of Emergency Services. “AMHC has been busy this month working with a number of other organizations to raise awareness. Maine’s suicide rate remains higher than the rest of the nation; I recently learned that more people in Maine die from suicide than from car accidents or breast cancer and for every homicide in Maine, there are seven sucides. AMHC is available to anyone experiencing a crisis. To access our Mobile Emergency Services team please call or text the Maine Crisis Line at 1-888-568-1112.”

Activies that have taken place include:

• Crisis Intervention Team training for Law Enformcement in Houlton – AMHC collaborated with NAMI Maine (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to train 17 officers on behavioral health issues. The offiers were provided tools and resources to manage behavioral health crises in the community.
• Suicide Prevention training for Resident Assistants, UMFK
• Out of the Darkness Walk, Fort Kent
• Awareness table at Machias Saving Bank, Caribou
• Student presentations on suicide prevention at Van Buren Middle and High Schools
• Illuminate Life event, Boys and Girls Club, Presque Isle on Septembre 18
• UMFK Student Health Fair on September 19
• Community Suicide Awareness Presentation with NAMI and MADRN (Make A Difference Right Now), on September 19 in Calais
• Anxiety and depression screenings at Cary Medical Center Health Fair on September 21 in Caribou

An open house for the Aroostook Recovery Center of Hope (ARCH), located at 36 North Street, will be held on Saturday, September 14 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.  ARCH, a service of Aroostook Mental Health Center in collaboration with Link for Hope, is a place where individuals can come and receive support for their recovery journey. ARCH will help connect people to resources and also serve as a venue for various recovery meetings.

It will be an important time of sharing with the community how a peer support recovery center like ARCH provides such a benefit to those struggling with alcohol and drug use.

The grand opening will include an overview of services offered, refreshments and a ribbon cutting at 3:30 p.m. All are welcome. Overflow parking will be accommodated at the former Portland Glass building next door. For more information, please contact Emily Bragdon at 493-1278 or Trudy Rairdon at 521-2283.