NEWARK -- The members of Mental Health America of Licking County's Compeer program planned their wellness fair Tuesday to focus on issues that were important to them -- among them, weight control, smoking cessation, cancer prevention and diabetes.
They also wanted the event to be welcoming to anyone who might happen by. Not in a sterile setting, said Compeer director Kristen Frame, but something more familiar -- hence their choice of the Licking County Library.
"They wanted to do a wellness fair that was peer-led, not intimidating," Frame said.
The Compeer organization, which serves people recovering from mental illness, regularly participates in service projects, Frame said. Tuesday was the first time they'd organized a wellness fair.
Frame said most of the visitors as of halfway through the event had been Compeer members.
Alhough they'd been hoping to attract more residents in the downtown Newark area, Frame said she was pleased with members who had stopped by to receive information from the almost 20 agencies and organizations who had set up booths there.
Because people with mental illness often die decades earlier than their peers without mental illness -- tobacco use and diabetes frequently are cited as causes -- those topics were among the ones spotlighted at Tuesday's event.
A Licking County Health Department display addressed the health hazards of tobacco use and a representative from Arensberg Pharmacy and Wellness Center offered blood sugar testing; representatives from Licking Memorial Hospital, Mental Health America of Licking County's Prevent Assault & Violence Education program and the American Cancer society also were on site to answer questions and pass out information.
Greeting visitors at the door were Compeer volunteers Becky Sforza and Jan Mardis, both of Newark, who were manning a bake sale table to raise proceeds for the organization.
Sforza was a Compeer member for about eight years before she became a volunteer, she said. The organization helped her overcome a lifelong struggle with extreme shyness, and she now is responsible for calling Compeer members to remind them of upcoming meetings.
She and Mardis met because they lived in the same Newark apartment building; they've been volunteering together with Compeer for several years and were glad to have input in the information that was available at the wellness fair.
They also were doing their part to contribute to the friendly atmosphere and spread word about Compeer.
"There's a lot of help out there for a lot of people if they just get it and use it right," Mardis said.
For more information about Compeer, visit mhalc.org/ compeer or call Frame at (740) 522-1341.
They also wanted the event to be welcoming to anyone who might happen by. Not in a sterile setting, said Compeer director Kristen Frame, but something more familiar -- hence their choice of the Licking County Library.
"They wanted to do a wellness fair that was peer-led, not intimidating," Frame said.
The Compeer organization, which serves people recovering from mental illness, regularly participates in service projects, Frame said. Tuesday was the first time they'd organized a wellness fair.
Frame said most of the visitors as of halfway through the event had been Compeer members.
Alhough they'd been hoping to attract more residents in the downtown Newark area, Frame said she was pleased with members who had stopped by to receive information from the almost 20 agencies and organizations who had set up booths there.
Because people with mental illness often die decades earlier than their peers without mental illness -- tobacco use and diabetes frequently are cited as causes -- those topics were among the ones spotlighted at Tuesday's event.
A Licking County Health Department display addressed the health hazards of tobacco use and a representative from Arensberg Pharmacy and Wellness Center offered blood sugar testing; representatives from Licking Memorial Hospital, Mental Health America of Licking County's Prevent Assault & Violence Education program and the American Cancer society also were on site to answer questions and pass out information.
Greeting visitors at the door were Compeer volunteers Becky Sforza and Jan Mardis, both of Newark, who were manning a bake sale table to raise proceeds for the organization.
Sforza was a Compeer member for about eight years before she became a volunteer, she said. The organization helped her overcome a lifelong struggle with extreme shyness, and she now is responsible for calling Compeer members to remind them of upcoming meetings.
She and Mardis met because they lived in the same Newark apartment building; they've been volunteering together with Compeer for several years and were glad to have input in the information that was available at the wellness fair.
They also were doing their part to contribute to the friendly atmosphere and spread word about Compeer.
"There's a lot of help out there for a lot of people if they just get it and use it right," Mardis said.
For more information about Compeer, visit mhalc.org/ compeer or call Frame at (740) 522-1341.
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