In the 15 years since it was founded, the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health has experienced tremendous growth, and with it much progress.
Starting with three faculty and two staff members, the program at Erector Square on Peck Street in New Haven now has 38 people helping it meet its mission to improve the lives of individuals, families, and the community.
“We’re happy with the size we are,” said Larry Davidson, PhD, professor of psychology and program director. “When we started this work people didn’t talk a lot about recovery. People didn’t talk about peer support. A lot of those things are now being discussed.”
The program celebrated its 15th anniversary on September 29 with a catered barbecue, art exhibit, research updates, news about its programs, and the presentation of its Flying Pig Award to New Haven Mayor Toni Harp.
The award is made of crystal and shaped like a pig, and is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.
It became a mascot years ago, when someone predicted the program had as much chance of succeeding at Yale as pigs can fly.
The first pig was given about five years ago to Thomas A. Kirk, retired commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), which provided the funding to start the program.
“He was a very staunch supporter of our work,” Davidson said, adding that Harp also supported the program when she represented New Haven in the state Senate between 1993 and 2013.
The program does collaborative research, evaluation, education, training, policy development, and consultation. It works to transform behavioral health programs, agencies, and systems to be culturally responsive and reoriented to facilitating the recovery and social inclusion of the individuals, families, and communities they serve.
When we started this work people didn’t talk a lot about recovery. People didn’t talk about peer support. A lot of those things are now being discussed.
Larry Davidson, PhD, professor of psychology and program director
It seeks to promote the recovery, self-determination, and inclusion of people who experience psychiatric disability, addiction, and discrimination through focusing on their strengths and the valuable contributions they have to make to their communities.
Recovery, health disparities, peer support and citizenship are its four areas of focus, Davidson said. It works closely with DMHAS on policy and program development.
As a show of support, the current commissioner of DMHAS, Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, PhD, attended the anniversary celebration and spoke about the good work the program is doing. She was joined by Michael Sernyak, MD, CEO of the Connecticut Mental Health Center, of which the program has an affiliation.
Among the exhibits was a hands-on cooking demonstration by organizers of the CMHC Better Eaters Club, a program that enables CMHC clients to learn how to establish a pantry, shop on a budget, understand good nutrition, and cook simple, tasty meals.
Chef Anne Gallagher, who teaches at CMHC, made three varieties of bruschetta for people to try. She and Francine Blinten, a certified clinical nutritionist, worked with Marydale DeBor, associate administrator at CMHC, to get the program started.
Another CMHC program, Recovery Speaks, had representatives to promote the public speaking performance, put on by people with real life experiences of mental illness, addiction, and incarceration.
“We work to help our peers because there is a stigma with people suffering from mental illness and substance abuse,” said Cynthia Hunter-Gamble, a performer.
She said she enjoys performing for high school-aged children to share the message about recovery.