2018

Wellmore “Shares” More

Ice Cream Trucks

This summer Wellmore tried to beat the heat by bringing back our favorite ice cream truck, not once, but twice! We brought the trucks in

during July and August for our staff at both the child and adult locations in Waterbury. Staff enjoyed ice cream during the heat of the day,

while some staff members brought back ice cream to our other locations and residential programs. What was the most popular flavor? The

choco taco of course! Our own EMPS staff were participtaing in a scavenger hunt and one of their stops was the ice cream truck in July!

All Staff Event

This year, Wellmore hosted our annual all-staff wellness event on September 5th. Staff enjoyed a Jeopardy style trivia game as an ice breaker

that was designed for staff to learn more about our programs and some fun facts about Wellmore. Marcy Kane was able to arrange for a visit

from Alex Trabec to host the game! (Pictured in the middle below) After that we heard a few words from our CEO, Gary Steck, about Wellmore

and what we have done over the last year.

Our guest speaker this year was Dr. Elaine Ducharme, Ph.D. Dr., who spoke about mindfulness with the topic of her talk titled “Willing your way

to Wellness”. During downtime, staff enjoyed breakfast and visiting with our many vendors which included BJ’s, The Art of Yum, United

Healthcare, Middlebury Chiropractic, A Balanced Body Massage, Young Living, The Waterbury YMCA, Mutual Security, EAP Solutions, Fitness

Fury, Smith Brothers Financial, Infection Control, CBP, MyEye Dr, and many more!

Archbishops Annual Appeal

On Thursday September 29th, Wellmore Behavioral Health received a check in the amount of $20,000 from the Archbishop’s

Annual Appeal through its Vicariate Outreach Program. The funding will help Wellmore continue its mission of providing lifetime

wellness through essential and innovative treatment and support to children, adults, and families.

“We are so grateful to Catholics across Connecticut who made this generous gift from the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal

possible. This gift offers us encouragement and hope to continue our work to heal those struggling with addiction and mental

health challenges. ” –Gary Steck, CEO

About the Archbishop Annual Appeal

Since 1981, the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal has been able to assist tens of thousands of people regardless of race, religion, or

color—across the archdiocese of Hartford with health care, education, housing, emergency expenses, and in numerous other areas. It is through the

Archbishop’s Annual Appeal Vicariate Outreach Program and the generosity of its donors that the Appeal is able to assist a wide array of community-based

charities throughout Hartford, New Haven and Litchfield counties.

Pictured left to right: Gary Steck and Father Gary Simone, Pastor of St. Gregory the Great Church in Bristol, CT.

Community Events

This fall, Wellmore participated in a large number of events including the Annual Back to School Rally in Waterbury, the Dad’s Matter Too 5k Race, several

Waterbury Police Community Outreach Events, and many more. Our CEO, Gary Steck, ran in the Dad’s Matter Too 5k and placed 1st in his class (pictured in the

middle below)! We already have several outreach events planned for the upcoming months!

BOMBAS Socks

Did you know that socks are the number one requested item in shelters both locally and across the world? In August,

Morris House received a donation of 500 pairs of wool socks from BOMBAS Socks. BOMBAS Socks donates one pair of

socks for every pair of socks that are purchased from their website. Our residents were very grateful to receive this

donation and they absolutely LOVED the socks!

Connecticut Community Foundation Grant

We are very excited to announce that in November, Wellmore received word that the Connecticut Community Foundation had approved a $20,000 grant for

Start-up Equipment for Integrated Care Program. Wellmore will use this grant to purchase equipment and furniture for the integrated behavioral and health care

office which will be opening at 402 East Main Street in Waterbury.

2nd Annual Food Truck Festival

Wellmore hosted a 2nd Annual Food Truck Festival for our employees in October and invited several local businesses including Webster Bank, St. Mary’s

Hospital, The Palace Theater, Waterbury Police Department, and many more. Among the trucks we had food from Bears Smokehouse, Cinnamon Churros, Lenny

& Joe’s Fish Tale Express, The Crepe Hut, The Art of Yum, and Rice & Beans! The staff enjoyed one of the few sunny days we have seen this fall and tried many

different flavors of food including vegan options!

Woman’s Choice Charity Association

In the last newsletter, we announced our first donation from the Woman’s Choice Charity Association to our Women & Children’s program.

Wellmore has graciously received a few more donations since then including period packs as well as clothing, diapers, blankets, and other

items for children, all of which has been given to our Women and Children’s Program! We are happy to announce now that WCCA has now

secured a new location! If you are interested in finding out how you can help WCCA, please visit their website for more information.

www.womanschoicecharity.org

Overdose Awareness Day

August 31st was International Overdose Awareness Day. The adult division of Wellmore, in partnership with the Della Pietra

Pharmacy, Waterbury Police Department, Waterbury Fire Department, and St. Mary’s Hospital-Franklin Medical Group hosted an

awareness day at 402 E. Main Street in our small parking lot. NARCAN was provided for those who had insurance, and

demonstrations about how to use NARCAN were given throughout the day. Channel 8 News even stopped by and interviewed

several of our staff and clients about the day and what it meant for them. Information was available about overdose and addiction,

and how to help prevent and recognize an overdose. Wellmore staff was there to explain our services and how we can help

someone who is struggling with substance abuse. Our staff even created posters that said “Honk if you Believe in Recovery”. We had a great turnout on a nice

sunny day, making our 2nd annual overdose awareness day fair a success.

Festival of Lights

This year Wellmore held our 5th Annual Festival of Lights on December 6, 2018. The committee worked hard to make this years event the best one yet! The

event was held at Chase Collegiate School here in Waterbury. With roughly 120 trees and wreaths that were donated, Wellmore was able to raise $30,000! We

had an array of trees including not one, but two Halloween themed trees! Onyx II Fine Jewelers graciously donated a 14K Yellow Gold Necklace designed by

their own Daniel Sanchez. The necklace was valued at $1500. The event also featured a tasting from Litchfield Distillery and Highland Brass Co. who created

signature cocktails. The Crosby High Culinary Department did an outstanding job once again preparing culinary delights and serving our guests. The Sacred Heart

High School Golf team members helped out committee out by lending a hand with set-up and break-down for volunteer hours!

Holiday Donations

This year Wellmore reached out for donations for our residential programs and we were overwhelmed by the responses! Platt Brothers donated a truckload of

bikes and toys for the children in our child outpatient programs. Pam Drzewiecki of Powerful Purpose donated brand new bedding sets, pillows, and women’s

purses to our Women & Children’s Program, while Saint Joseph’s and Saint Patrick’s Churches of Waterbury donated clothing items for our adults! Blessed

Sacrament Church had many items for pick up including hand knit scarfs, hats, and gloves for our children’s programs made by the prayer shawl group! Saint

John of the Cross dropped off gifts on 3 separate occasions to be spread across our programs. Post University and the UCONN Bookstore also donated many

items including toiletries. Over the last 5 years, the UCONN Waterbury Bookstore has donated 995 pounds of toiletry items to our programs!

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Church in Waterbury donated over 200 gifts for our residential programs, going far

beyond what was asked of them. Father Ford greeted us when we arrived for pick-up and took a picture with Jeffrey and Jackie!

We had so many items to sort and deliver that we asked a few of our clients to give us a hand! Donations were still being dropped

off while we were sorting and packing up the gifts! After 7 car loads we delivered to all of our residential programs!

We would like to say a very big thank you to all those individuals and organizations who donated during this holiday season!

Employee Discounts at UCONN Waterbury Bookstore!

After receiving donations for our residential houses for several years now, we are excited to announce that our employees will now receive a 10% discount at

the UCONN Waterbury Bookstore for their loyal support! Staff will be able to show their badge and receive the discount on everything in the store with the

exception of textbooks!

*NEW* Wellmore Store

We are also excited to announce that we have now launched a new Wellmore Online Store where you can purchase Wellmore clothing and other items. All

items are shipped to our HR department at 141 E. Main to eliminate shipping costs. Simply go to the link listed below and check out all that we have to offer!

https://store.triplestitch.com/WellmoreWear

Internal Promotions & Licenses

Over the last six months we had several employees who

received promotions!

Kaitlin Sohn, LMFT- Clinician to Senior Clinician in Adult

Outpatient

George Rehkamp, LPC, LADC- from Clinician to Senior

Clinician in Adult Outpatient

Kathleen Nugent, LPC- Senior Clinician to Clinical Lead in

Adult Outpatient

Amanda Ayers- FFT Senior Clinician to FFT Team Leader

John Keane, LADC- Senior Clinician to program Manager of

Therapeutic Shelter

We would also like to say Congratulations to the following

employees who recently acquired their licenses!

Carly Gambardella- Licensed Maters Social Worker

Ilaiza Aviles- Licensed Masters Social Worker

Maria Lopez- Licensed Masters Social Worker

Molly O’Lena- Licnesed Masters Social Worker

Rachel Bolinsky- Licensed Professional Counselor

Getting Social with Wellmore!

Want to stay updated throughout the year? Follow us on social media! Instagram: @wellmore_behavioral_health_ct Facebook: @wellmore1 Twitter: @Wellmore_BH

Upcoming Events

Wellmore has many activities planned for 2019, including several more staff and community outreach events! Nutrition Month & Chair Massages: March 13th Give Local: 7am on April 23rd through 7pm on April 24th 29th Annual Links Fore Hope Golf Tournament: May Pizza Trucks: June 19th