More money for mental health and addiction
100 Women Who Care help out Lennon Recovery House Association
Lennon Recovery House Association is the most recent recipient of a donation from the Prince Edward Island’s Chapter of 100 Women Who Care.
On Tuesday, June 12, the members selected the association as the recipient of its collective $16,100 in donations. Dianne Young, the founder of Lennon House, spoke of how her son Lennon’s battle with addiction and mental illness ended in suicide in November of 2013. Her journey of grief has led her to want to help people like Lennon have a safe place to live and recover from mental illness.
This is becoming a reality thanks to the donation of the former Belcourt spiritual centre by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown.
For the past year, a board of directors and group of volunteers under her direction have made modifications to the property including meeting fire code regulations. This donation of $16,100 will be dedicated to the kitchen
for appliances and cabinet updates. When Lennon House opens, it will be a 50-bed facility offering alternative therapies, counselling, life skills peer support, yoga and exercise classes, gardening, art, group programs,
mindfulness and meditation.
The programming will be complementary to services offered by the P.E.I. Department of Health. It will intensify long term recovery and a new way of life for those suffering from the chronic disease of addiction and mental health.
Compelling presentations were also given by Oak Acres Children’s Foundation and 4-H Trust. Both of these charities have the opportunity to be nominated for future meetings; often returning charities to the podium emerge as the selected charity the second or third time. After a charity is chosen as the recipient, the charity is unable to be nominated for three years to allow other charities to have a chance.
The simple, effective model of a large group of women meeting four times per year, listening to five-minute presentations of three nominated Island charities and pooling their $100 donations to support one charity is appealing to members and charities. The past two meetings of 100 Women Who Care P.E.I. has attracted new members in record numbers.
“I was so impressed with the efficiency with which the meeting was run. We were in and out in an hour and there was very little idle time,” said new member Carol O’Hanley. “The speeches were all moving and informative, and I was thrilled to see the money go to the Lennon Recovery House.”