The year has moved quickly as we watched the seasons change from winter, to spring, to a blazing hot summer and early taste of fall. Just like the seasons, our work is always evolving.
In the spring and summer we saw our newest program, Guardianship/POA/Rep Payee, grow exponentially. We have the honor of serving almost 30 individuals; assuring their needs are met and their safety is assured. We have developed relationships with nursing homes, personal care homes, the Animal Rescue League, funeral homes, attorneys, doctor’s offices, and many other community partners.
We held our second annual golf tournament fundraiser and saw an increase of 20 golfers this year. We’ve continued to partner with a local bicycle club for events and continue to work to broaden our fundraising efforts for 2023!
Our peer support program continues to serve many individuals in Berks County who are beginning their journey to mental wellness and our representative payee services continued to grow as well.
Our Educational Advocates continue to be quite busy with the resumption of in person learning in the fall of 2021. Many children in Berks County are still struggling to catch up from the years of virtual learning caused by the pandemic. Continued trainings to best serve our families is a goal for the Educational Advocates in the coming year.
GRMHA is continuing the creation the first ever Berks County LOSS team to respond to surviving relatives and friends who are affected by a suicide. With the help of the Berks County Suicide Prevention Task Force and RUOk Berks, we have compiled local resources to provide to coroners and funeral homes in Berks County. We started a second session for the Survivors of Suicide support group and attended the National LOSS team Conference in October. We are currently searching for volunteers to work in this program, hopefully beginning in early 2023.
Our work is heavily dependent upon the generosity of our Berks County community. There are several ways you can help us continue our mission. We have become an Amazon Smile non-profit which means we receive a portion of the purchases made when you designate us as your charity of choice (https://smile.amazon.com/ch/23-1522636). You may make donations/contributions directly to us by mail or through online donations on our website. You can sponsor a hole at our annual golf event or send a team to play! And, if your employer participates in the United Way and you pledge, you may select our organization to be the recipient of your donations. Every donation helps!
This is only a glimpse into the work that goes on at GRMHA daily. The work we do here is critical to the betterment of Berks County and I remain grateful that I have the privilege to be a part of it.
Stay well,
Wendy
Greater Reading Mental Health Alliance 