News

February 9, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Diane Brewer, Division Director
Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery
502-253-7504

Seven Counties Services, Inc. to Present Sunrise Award
to Central Presbyterian Church

Efforts with Louisville church exemplify successful cooperation and collaboration in helping individuals affected by mental illness

Louisville, KY, 02-09-2007 - At the 11:00 a.m. worship service on Sunday, February 11, 2007, members of Louisville's Central Presbyterian Church (318 W. Kentucky St.) will receive the second annual Sunrise Award, presented by Seven Counties Services, Inc. The award honors an individual or organization that recognizes the capacity for growth, development, and progress that can be achieved by working together. For more than a year, Central Presbyterian and Seven Counties Services' Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery (CRR) have shared a rewarding experience providing food, fellowship, and respite to persons in need, while creating a safe and rewarding community work opportunity for several persons living with severe and persistent mental illness.

Seeing an unmet community need, Central Presbyterian started providing a hot lunch and mid-day refuge for clients of the Healing Place who were taking classes just a few blocks from the church. As the numbers served grew, so did the need for more assistance to meet the needs. At the same time, Seven Counties Services' CRR was searching for new community volunteer and work experience opportunities for it clients. CRR serves 38 residents, each of whom has a severe and persistent mental illness. Many of CRR's residents have spent much of their lives isolated from their communities in an institutional setting.

Over a year ago, CRR began sending three to five volunteers, along with a job coach, to the lunch. The volunteers helped cook, set up tables, serve the meals, and clean up afterwards. As the number of CRR volunteers has grown, so too has the number of people served. Today, as many as eleven CRR volunteers help create and share a hot meal with up to 100 persons at the weekly Wednesday luncheon. CRR volunteers prepare for their community experience by completing a five-week class called Hospitality 101.

"The significance of the collaboration is more than big numbers," says Diane Brewer, the Seven Counties' Division Director who oversees CRR operations. "Central Presbyterian has become a 'safe' place for our clients to venture into the community, learn new skills and experience new rewards." Recently, two CRR residents on the lunch crew who are particularly interested in working in the food service industry were invited to work with a chef in preparation of an evening meal for a Fine Dining event held at the church.

The collaboration has also affected the church's thinking about its mission. During Mental Illness Awareness Week, Central Presbyterian hosted a dinner discussion on ways to include persons living with mental illness into the life of the church.
Robert Elliott, Seven Counties' Board President and Paula Cooke Harshaw, Chair of Seven Counties' Community Education and Advocacy Committee will present the award to Reverend Mark Baridon and the Central Presbyterian congregation. They will be joined by Diane Brewer, Division Director for CRR; Martha Kenney, Clinical Director for CRR; and Brenda Harris, Supported Employment Specialist at CRR.

Seven Counties Services, Inc. is a private, non-profit corporation that provides planning, prevention, treatment, and support in the areas of mental illness, developmental disabilities, addictions, and abuse in Jefferson, Bullitt, Shelby, Spencer, Henry, Oldham, and Trimble counties. More than 1,400 clinical and administrative professionals create and deliver quality services to approximately 30,000 individuals each year. For additional information about Seven Counties Services, Inc., contact Dean Johnson, Public Information Coordinator, at 502-589-8615, ext. 1197 or DJohnson2@sevencounties.org.