Engage in and enjoy Compeer Day at Porter Library

Come join us at the seventh annual Compeer Day at Westlake Porter Public Library on Sunday, May 17, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Compeer Day at WPPL is an open invitation to learn about library resources, Compeer volunteering at Far West Center, and facts about mental health. The event will be held in the Porter Room and is free for all to attend. 

Compeer Day has been held each May, Mental Health Awareness Month, beginning in 2008. It is an open house event for our surrounding community. You are invited to come and engage in activities, socialize and meet staff, members and volunteers. 

Compeer at Far West Center is an affiliate of the international nonprofit Compeer Inc. Compeer focuses on how friendship makes a positive impact on our lives and our mental health. Compeer relies on community adult volunteers to help with our mission to share friendship with people that need acceptance, encouragement and smiles. 

Studies, and common sense, show that people learn more information and learn more about others if they are in a relaxed, welcoming and fun environment. Porter Library definitely meets all three. Compeer Day is designed to be an enjoyable event that includes a fun opportunity to watch or take part in the WPPL-Compeer Team Jeopardy Challenge! 

Also at the event you will be welcome to view artwork by members of the Art Helps and Heals, “AHH,” art therapy program at Far West Center. AHH Art Therapy offers adults in recovery from mental illness an opportunity to express thoughts and emotions in a fresh, creative way. Some members will be in attendance and happy to answer questions about their art pieces and the creative experience.

There will be a Compeer Volunteer Recognition and a chance for you to hear firsthand about being a program volunteer. There are many public misconceptions about mental illness. When you meet the friendly Compeer volunteers, members and staff you will learn that there is nothing to fear in a mental wellness and recovery program. Compeer at Far West Center focuses on the wellness part of recovery which includes socializing in the community, ways to feel happy, fun times and humor!

Compeer is grateful to hold our Mental Health Awareness Month event at WPPL each year. In fact the community-minded Library Director, Andrew Mangels, offered the opportunity to Compeer and Far West Center in 2008.     

For more information about the Compeer Program at Far West Center or the AHH Art Therapy Program, please call 440-835-6212, ext. 242. For more information on the resources and events at Westlake Porter Public Library, please call 440-871-2600. Better yet, stop on by the Compeer Day at WPPL on May 17!  

Denise Ayres

The Compeer Program has been serving adults that are managing mental illness from our Far West Center office beginning in 1989! The Compeer Program is a branch of Compeer, Inc., an international organization with an evidence based program model. Compeer matches adult volunteers with same gender adult consumers of mental health services to provide friendship, emotional support, and encouragement. Denise Ayres, Compeer Program Coordinator, is a Licensed Social Worker with many years of working in adult mental health services.  Holly Henderson, Peer Support Specialist,is certified as a state Peer Counselor.

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Volume 7, Issue 8, Posted 9:33 AM, 04.21.2015