NY-P Westchester Behavioral Health Center
Tags: Mental Illness, Mental Health Awareness, Mental Illness Awareness, Mental Health, Peer To Peer

Christmas Delivery

A special thanks to all of our wonderful card donors: Fountain House, Silver Center of NYC: Lisa, Susan, Bruce, Catherine, Davida, Deborah, Eva, John, Judith, Louise, Maria, Monica, Richard, Saveiro, and Timothy who donated an amazing 237 nearly all handmade cards.

Christmas stockings stuffed with Hershey Kisses, Candy Canes and personal message from Katherine donated by Katherine and Izzy.

Testimonial:

“The holiday spirit was in abundant evidence at NY-P Westchester, thanks to you and ForLikeMinds/Psych Ward Greeting Cards/Fountain House, Silver Center!

The patients enjoyed selecting their card from the Fountain House collection. The cards were heartfelt and clever. They loved the beauty, variety and uniqueness. There was something for everyone! It was so impressive that the cards were made in people’s homes — that was an enormous amount of organization, and you all carried it forth beautifully! Please let me know where to send a thank you card to the Fountain House Silvers, who are worth their weight in Gold!

Your stockings were a tour de force! Just lovely — aesthetic, a perfect recovery message and full of yummy holiday treats. You organized and wrapped them so carefully, even indicating the number of items to help our distribution. The patients enjoyed selecting between Santa, Rudolph and the Teddy Bear. The extra candy came in handy, too.”

Chaya Weinstein, Occupational Therapist, Payne Whitney Clinic, New York-Presbyterian

Sample message from Katherine:

Dear friend, I am here to share a little hope. I know that things may be hard now — you may be feeling a little hopeless, sad, lonely. You will not always feel this way, because you are a beautiful person. You are brave and courageous, much stronger than you think. And you are not alone. You will believe all of this someday, you will realize that it is ok to love yourself. You are worthy. Loving yourself allows you to believe you deserve better than being sick, that you do not deserve to suffer, that there is reason to believe in a better future. Love yourself to live the life you deserve. Know that today is not your forever. Much better days lie ahead. You can and you will get better! I know all of this, because I have mental illness too, I was in the hospital just like you. I got better and so can you. Please believe me, believe in yourself. A lot of people love you and need you. You deserve a wonderful life, full of happiness. Love, your friend, your peer, Katherine

Testimonial

“Dear Katherine, I wanted to extend the utmost gratitude to you on behalf of my patients in Addiction Recovery at NYP Behavioral Health, White Plains, NY. They were beyond thrilled and in awe of your message of hope. It was one of those days as a facilitator to engage patients encased with dark energy as they trudge through the holiday season. So we simply sat together and talked. I brought out your “stocking messages” and we read it aloud together. There were tears and screams of “this made my day”. You made my day as well. Thank you for sharing with us your message as well as a new resource for them to go to. All the best to you. Merry Christmas. Cathy”