Dear Friend,

Safe & Well.

These simple words have taken on a whole new meaning for all of us in the past month.  We want them to be true for ourselves and for others and are doing everything we can to make it so: staying home, social distancing, regular handwashing, and wearing face masks.

In a recent story about CMHC’s COVID-19 response written by Marekeshia Ricks, CMHC Director and CEO Michael J. Sernyak, MD, explained:

"Our strategic goal from the beginning was to maintain clinical services, so everything is being oriented in that direction.”

Here at CMHC we are doing our part. To safeguard the health of our clients and staff, we have scaled back on-site care to ensure continuation of core clinical functions:  inpatient, acute, mobile crisis and pharmacy services.  We are in the process of converting to telehealth to make sure people can count on us for quality care while we adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. You can read more about our “new norms”  here .

Several years ago, our board member Chris Philip-Onofrio, put it like this:

"CMHC and its Foundation are like safety engineers in our community. Together they do the unseen work of making sure that nearly 5,000 adults every year have reliable support systems to overcome mental illness, addictions, and poverty, in order to be well and live securely in the community." 

Right now, we are in the midst of a massive sewing drive to create 1,000 masks for our clients in the community.  We want to help protect them against this virus.  By doing so, we also protect our CMHC staff and help stop community spread.  Our effort is spearheaded by members of our staff with support from community volunteers.  You can help by donating 100% cotton fabric and/or 1/4” elastic.  If you sew, we can provide you with pre-cut kits so you can help us reach our goal.  For questions or more information, please contact  [email protected] .