Advocates' PES Grows: Now Serving 31 Towns, 6 Hospitals

Advocates has recently made major expansions to its Mental Health Division and Psychiatric Emergency Services that will allow us to help thousands of new families and individuals each year.

Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) has expanded its 24-hour coverage beyond the MetroWest region to 18 new towns to our east, including Concord, Arlington and Woburn. The expansion means we are now serving 31 towns and 6 hospitals, including Emerson Hospital in Concord; Winchester Hospital; Lahey Clinic in Burlington; MetroWest Medical Center, Framingham Union Campus; MetroWest Medical Center, Leonard Morse Campus and Marlborough Hospital. Click here for a complete list of towns served and contact information.

Advocates is also serving over 100 new individuals and families in supported housing programs. We hired approximately 50 new employees for the expansion and now have over 1,000 employees statewide.

As Advocates helps more and more people at risk for homelessness, we thank the Massachusetts Bar Association for increasing its support to our Advocacy, Benefits and Legal Services (ABLS) with a $20,000 grant.

The grant is up $5,000 from last year, in a year the bar association reported its own grant fund was down significantly due to the economy. The money will fund a part-time paralegal at ABLS, which also helps people obtain social security disability benefits.

Advocates is working with local government and private organizations to build staffing at ABLS because of decreased federal funding. This is despite a significant upturn in cases of people with disabilities living in cars, needing rental assistance and losing their homes in this economic recession.

Expanded Respite Program To Serve 18 New Communities

Advocates has relocated to a new, fully renovated site in Marlborough. As part of an expansion of our recovery services to people in 31 communities, the program will grow from 11 to 14 beds. Ellen Sosin, Program Manager, reported, "The new space is fantastic!"

Now that Advocates' 10th Annual Art Exhibit is over, it's time to showcase the community's talent in the Advocates' 2010 Art Calendar.

This year, we asked everyone who attended the art exhibit opening to vote on their favorite pieces. Here are the top 12 vote getters who will be featured in the calendar. 

Drew Richardson - "Untitled"

Jane Orenstein - "Les Tres Hermanas"

Christian Alvarado - "Untitled"

Megan Rasbold-Gabbard - "The Purple Flower"

Bruce Harrington - "Bruce in Artwork"

Lori Ann Gerwaski-Rose - "The Paisley Bicycle"

George Russo - "The Artist and His Painting"

Helen Rivard - "Drinking from a Cloud"

Beth Kelliher - "Untitled"

Michael Trainor - "Untitled"

Cindy Wheaton - "Ambiguous"

Sarah Calderon - "Gabriel"  

Individuals and businesses interested in supporting this widely-anticipated calender, please click here to donate online or contact Helen Rivard at hrivard@advocatesinc.org.

Expect to see lots of changes this summer outside 20 Vernon St. in Framingham, where work is scheduled to be complete Oct. 30 on 8 new affordable housing units for people recovering from mental illness.

Among the most visible changes ahead: paint and landscaping. Over the next few weeks, Advocates will meet with local members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - who spearheaded the project over a decade ago and partnered with Advocates - to choose a color for the building, which sits on the Framingham Town Centre.

"This project has taken many years and the result is important. The idea came from members of NAMI Greater Framingham," Advocates' President and CEO Bill Taylor said."These apartment units in this beautiful, historic building are the result of their vision and tenacity."