SACO — Counseling Services, Inc., a local community mental health agency, has received two grants totaling $35,000 from the Davis Family Foundation and the Sam L. Cohen Foundation to expand services at the agency’s new Peer Support Center in Saco.
The New Directions Peer Support Center was created to provide an alternative resource to crisis services and hospital emergency rooms for people suffering from emotional or psychological distress.
The Davis Family Foundation gave CSI $10,000; the Sam L. Cohen Foundation made a $25,000 donation.
CSI’s Peer Support Center is based on a new model for mental health consumers: a convenient, non-clinical setting staffed by mental health consumers who have completed the state-certified Intentional Peer Support training program. The center’s volunteer staff members connect with psychologically distressed visitors primarily through supportive listening and encouragement.
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