Members explore diverse forms of creative expression to articulate their inner world—drawing, painting, photography, sculpture using various materials, beading, canvas art, music, drama, role-playing, poetry, and creative writing. These artistic pursuits enhance self-esteem, alleviate anxiety and stress, improve communication skills, and nurture creativity. Engaging in creative activities strengthens mood, builds self-confidence, and reduces overall stress. Furthermore, crafting activities sharpen mental agility, refine both gross and fine motor skills, and may help mitigate cognitive decline.

Members start the day with a well-balanced breakfast. To focus on mental well-being, a morning check-in serves as a simple yet effective way to connect with their emotions and current needs. Each individual shares their mood, current circumstances, life events, and how these factors are affecting them. Eating breakfast can positively impact mental health by improving focus, memory, and mood, while also reducing stress and potentially lowering the risk of depression and enhancing overall cognitive performance.

Members develop teamwork skills and ownership through closet management alongside a peer support specialist. This activity serves two key objectives. First, it simulates a retail work environment where members gain valuable vocational experience by organizing products on shelves, hanging and folding clothing, and arranging items by size, gender, and type—all while honing communication, active listening, teamwork, and dexterity skills. Second, it enables members to serve as retail clerks for fellow shoppers, while providing community members opportunities to practice budgeting and shopping using "Hope Bucks" earned by helping around the center.

Members engage in various community-building activities including lake and river outings, recovery-focused movie and lunch gatherings, bowling events, interactive bingo and game sessions, and numerous other social opportunities designed to strengthen supportive connections.

Research demonstrates that individuals with close confidants, friends, or supportive partners typically experience greater longevity and enhanced health outcomes. Social support encompasses both practical and emotional dimensions—offering encouragement, providing tangible assistance, giving constructive feedback, demonstrating empathy and care, or serving as positive role models. Equally valuable is developing the ability to identify and access appropriate support resources when needed. Support networks commonly include friends, chosen family, healthcare providers, and colleagues. The significance lies not in the number of connections but in the quality of care and support these relationships provide.

In Creative Writing, members express their feelings, thoughts, and emotions through guided writing prompts that inspire short stories, poems, or letters as forms of artistic expression. They're encouraged to use their imagination to infuse personality into their work while exploring various writing styles. The program invites participants to reflect on their writing, draw inspiration from music, and share their creations aloud when comfortable.

Through journal writing and targeted creative exercises, members develop their expressive abilities. The primary goal of Creative Writing is to foster self-acceptance and emotional fluency by helping participants articulate thoughts and feelings in a safe environment while preventing the frustrations that arise when emotions remain unexpressed. The program incorporates fundamental literacy skills including vocabulary development, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and diverse writing formats. Throughout these activities, members strengthen crucial life skills including socialization, communication, respect, and boundary-setting.

Members gain practical communication and self-expression skills through theater arts activities. They build confidence in a supportive group setting while developing tools for personal wellness. Research shows participants typically experience increased happiness, improved self-esteem, and stronger community connections. The workshop respects each person's unique journey while providing proven techniques they can use in everyday life.

Spirituality is a deeply meaningful dimension of life for many people, often playing a significant role in their recovery journey. It connects us to our core values and can provide powerful guidance along the path to healing. This workshop offers participants the opportunity to explore the importance of spirituality in their own lives, reflecting on how it can support and enrich their personal recovery journey.

Gardening offers profound benefits that promote lasting change and ongoing recovery, impacting individuals physically, mentally, and emotionally. By engaging in gardening, participants can deepen their cultural and social connections within the community and form meaningful relationships with others. Gardening education and activities foster a special bond between plants and people, encouraging relaxation and reducing stress, tension, anger, fear, and even lowering blood pressure. This activity also boosts self-esteem, confidence, community pride, and fosters stronger relationships.

Our goal is to promote equality, self-growth, and community enrichment. In this workshop, you are invited to explore what recovery means in the context of mental health while nurturing and being nurtured. Together, we’ll delve into the concepts of recovery, resiliency, health, and wellness through a therapeutic connection with the earth and nature.

We offer hair cuts to members on the first Tuesday of the month in the afternoon.

In this workshop, we take a closer look at your current wellness lifestyle through a comprehensive three-page assessment. Together, we explore various approaches to wellness, reflecting on which ones you already practice, which ones you’re interested in trying, and those that may not resonate with you. This process allows you to gain clarity on your wellness journey and make choices that align with your personal needs and interests.

Managing stressful emotions can significantly enhance your health, well-being, and relationships. In this workshop, you’ll discover how to make clearer choices and better decisions in challenging situations, such as time pressures and unexpected changes. Learn practical ways to consciously create more flow and ease in your daily interactions with family and others, and explore effective resilience-building techniques that can be applied before, during, and after stressful events. You’ll also have the opportunity to create and commit to a personalized practice plan tailored to your needs. Using HeartMath De-stress technology, we’ll utilize bio-feedback to measure your heart rate before, during, and after relaxation exercises, offering real-time insights to support your journey toward greater calm and balance.

The primary goals of Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) are to help you:

Understand mental illnesses and explore effective treatment strategies
Decrease symptoms
Prevent relapses and reduce hospitalizations
Make meaningful progress toward your personal goals and recovery journey

Hope Lives IMR practitioners work alongside you, providing tailored information, strategies, and skills to help you manage psychiatric symptoms and achieve your goals. The IMR program includes:

An orientation session to outline the program’s goals and expectations
One or two introductory sessions to get to know you better
Weekly or biweekly sessions lasting three to ten months
Hands-on practice of relapse prevention and recovery skills
Optional involvement of significant others—family members, friends, or other supporters—to foster greater understanding and support in your recovery journey

With IMR, you’ll have the tools, guidance, and encouragement to move forward and thrive in your recovery process.

Music can reduce stress and anxiety, elevate mood, and enhance cognitive function. Members take turns selecting songs that support their recovery and mental well-being. They share perspectives on diverse musical genres, current trends, music news, and personal preferences. Discussions cover Grammy Award winners, notable albums, popular hits, various music styles, and different performers. Conversations about musical instruments—their sounds, styles, and manufacturing—help members develop appreciation for different musical forms through interaction and the exchange of thoughts, tastes, and opinions.

Music helps individuals cope with depression, PTSD, and other mental health conditions while fostering social connections and community bonds. Research shows music stimulates dopamine release—the brain's "feel-good" neurotransmitter—potentially alleviating depression symptoms. Music also serves as a form of emotional expression, enabling healthy processing and release of feelings. Group music activities enhance social skills and create a sense of belonging.

Our innovative, fun, and inspirational cooking and nutrition workshops are a key part of our person-centered peer support whole health planning activities. These engaging sessions take a comprehensive look at a participant’s health and lifestyle, covering essential topics like meal planning on a tight budget, cooking nutritious meals from food box ingredients, and understanding how healthy eating can impact chronic conditions. With a strength-based approach, we focus on each individual’s unique strengths, interests, and natural supports while encouraging the development of new, sustainable health habits and disciplines. Delivered by a certified Nutritionist and Peer Specialists, these workshops provide education, awareness, and prevention activities designed to empower participants to take charge of their whole health journey.

Members are expected to participate in 1 hour of class to receive a ticket for Nutrition Kitchen.

Provides essential food access for members through carefully coordinated distribution programs. Every Tuesday and Friday, members can access fresh, quality donated items through the Food Rescue program, while Thursdays offer additional nutritional support through the Waste Not initiative. These services help supplement members' nutritional needs, ensuring consistent access to healthy food options that might otherwise be unavailable to them. By eliminating potential food insecurity barriers, the program supports members' overall wellness and recovery journeys, allowing them to focus more fully on their personal growth and development while meeting basic nutritional requirements.

This workshop dives into the power of positive self-talk and its critical role in staying on track with our recovery journey. Participants will explore how to navigate the "weather forecasts" of their personal journeys and make meaningful, positive changes when faced with negative self-talk. Together, we’ll uncover how negative self-talk can become a relentless inner voice, reflect on the obstacles that prevent positive change, and discuss its overall impact on our lives. As part of this workshop, participants will complete a Self-Talk Self-Assessment and engage in activities designed to help shift from negative to positive self-talk, fostering a healthier, more empowering mindset.

In this workshop, you'll learn to build a portable wellness toolbox designed to support you during moments of strong emotions and their related behaviors. A wellness toolbox serves as a mindful reminder of the daily practices and coping strategies that help maintain your overall well-being. We’ll begin by exploring the concept of coping behaviors and skills, reflecting on the techniques you have used in the past and present to manage mental health challenges. Together, we’ll identify effective strategies to help minimize distress, empowering you with practical tools to navigate life's ups and downs with greater resilience and balance.

Taking part in the Robinson Ranch program offers a truly unique and transformative therapeutic experience. By harnessing the powerful bond between humans and animals, especially horses, we create an environment where individuals can relax, reduce stress, and feel a profound sense of safety and unconditional acceptance. This connection encourages deeper engagement in therapy, helping participants gain the full benefits of the healing process.

Robinson Ranch provides comprehensive educational and therapeutic programs for both underprivileged and able-bodied children and adults, using horses as dynamic partners in personal growth, learning, and healing. Our nurturing, safe, and challenging environment empowers clients to reach their fullest potential. We serve children and adults, including those who have faced abuse, neglect, or economic hardship, offering meaningful connections and life-changing healing opportunities.

Members explore self-care as a deliberate practice for nurturing mental, emotional, and physical health. They learn how these intentional activities enhance their sense of self-worth and personal value, discovering the connection between self-love and effective self-care. The program emphasizes how consistent self-care practices improve mood and reduce anxiety.

In a safe, judgment-free environment, members engage in topic discussions where they draw from personal experiences to make meaningful real-life applications. While the primary focus remains on developing active listening, cognitive processing, communication, speaking, appropriate sharing, and acceptance skills, participants utilize many additional competencies throughout the process. The program incorporates role-playing scenarios, demonstrations, and interactive worksheets to promote attentiveness and full engagement.

In this workshop, we explore and reflect on our individual wellness strengths. Through guided journaling, we identify the strengths we have relied on in the past to support and improve our well-being. Participants have an opportunity to map out and set personal health and wellness goals they wish to achieve. Together, we consider which strengths and resources can best support these goals, creating a clear and empowering path toward greater wellness.

The Peer-to-Peer Tobacco Recovery Groups provide valuable health and wellness information, as well as effective strategies for tobacco cessation. Participants can share their personal experiences in a non-judgmental environment, offering encouragement and mutual support as they work toward their Tobacco Recovery goals.

Throughout the program, participants will learn about healthy behaviors, the truth about tobacco, behavior change strategies, coping with cravings, stress management, and planning for success. Peer Tobacco Recovery Advocates are available to provide individualized support and make appropriate referrals to healthcare providers, ensuring participants have the resources they need to achieve their goals.

Join us every 3rd Tuesday between 8am and 12pm for St. Mary’s Mobile Pantry.

The Vitality Club is here to support your journey toward improved health and a more rewarding lifestyle. We provide engaging health education and prevention awareness opportunities to help you achieve and maintain a healthier way of life. While we emphasize the importance of physical activity, we also focus on balanced nutrition, healthy weight management, stress reduction, and—most importantly—having fun along the way.

Our Vitality Club activities include a wide range of options to suit your interests, such as: