United Helpers Receives $611K Grant To Expand Behavioral Health Services

CANTON – As part of the Village of Canton’s $1,186,974 Community Development Block Grant, United Helpers Behavioral Health and Life Skills will receive more than $600,000 to help the organization expand its reach in the community.

United Helpers will specifically receive $611,974, which will be used to hire six new mental health clinicians and six new care coordinators.

Director of Behavioral Health Services David K. Nelson noted that more than 60% of the patients receiving mental health services through United Helpers do so from its Canton location, located at 22 State Highway 310. United Helpers also operates a Behavioral Health Clinic at 221 Hamilton Street in Ogdensburg. 

“Since 2019, we have built and grown mental health services in Canton, currently serving the community with four full-time clinicians and a part-time psychiatric nurse practitioner, who provides care for six hours each week,” Mr. Nelson said. “Presently, we receive as many as 50 referrals each month and have a wait list of more than 200 people. The average wait time for services is two weeks.”

United Helpers Health Home Care Coordination currently provides community-based services to 260 clients across the county, including many in the Canton area. Mr. Nelson said each care coordinator has a caseload of roughly 30 individuals, while each clinician is seeing as many as 80 patients at any given time.

“This grant will allow us to provide these much-needed mental health and care coordination services to as many as 432 new people,” Mr. Nelson said.

United Helpers Vice President of Development Christa J. Carroll worked together with Mr. Nelson and officials from the village on the grant application, which was submitted as part of the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal’s Community Development Block Grant CARES Program.

“We are thankful to the State of New York for this grant funding, and their recognition of our efforts to provide behavioral health services to the people of Northern New York,” Ms. Carroll said. “I am thankful to Dave and everyone from the village, especially Leigh Rodriguez, who worked so very hard on this grant application. We are excited about helping many more people.”

New York State Commissioner of Homes and Community Renewal Ruthanne Visnauskas said this particular version of the Community Development Block Grant was awarded to municipalities for efforts related to COVID-19 pandemic response.

In a letter announcing the awarding of the grant, Ms. Visnauskas wrote, “The projects selected for award will assist in the recovery of New York State communities by improving the resiliency of businesses and safety of homes and public facilities serving its residents.”

While United Helpers had been providing behavioral health and mental health services prior to the pandemic, Mr. Nelson said the pandemic led to a dramatic increase in the need for these types of services.

“United Helpers is seeing the highest levels of anxiety and depression we have ever seen since the pandemic hit in March of 2020. This is a troubling trend fueled by loneliness and isolation,” Mr. Nelson said. “We are beyond thankful that the state is recognizing our efforts.”

If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, or feel like you could benefit from counselling or therapy, give United Helpers a call. For services in Canton call 315-386-0264, for services in Ogdensburg call 315-541-3042. Services are offered to people of all ages, with Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurances accepted. Services may also be offered in-person or remotely.

Staff from the United Helpers Behavioral Health and Life Skills Mental Health Clinic in Canton are thrilled to hear their team will soon be expanding thanks to a grant from the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal’s Community Development Block Grant Cares Program. The grant of nearly $612,000 will allow for the hire of up to six new mental health clinicians and six new care coordinators. Front row, from left, Medical Assistant Danielle Jackson, Assistant Director of Behavioral Health Programs Brea Snyder, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Director Stacey Ryan; back row, from left, Director of Behavioral Health Services Dave Nelson, LCSW-R, Canton Clinic Receptionist Alicia Vallance, Clinical Social Worker Lisa Van Kirk, LMSW, and Supervising Social Worker Jeanine Forrester, LCSW.

Local Photographer Overcomes Many Obstacles on Way to Recognizing She is an Artist

GOUVERNEUR – The walls of Maria Mantia’s home look like that of any photographer and are covered with beautiful framed images taken from her surroundings in St. Lawrence County.

Maria Mantia

The difference between Ms. Mantia though and most other photographers is she is legally blind.

While not completely blind, Ms. Mantia cannot drive and relies on her daughter Anita and brother Frank to bring her to the places where she’ll find the next image to frame and hang on her walls.

Photography is also a relatively new passion for Ms. Mantia, who until 2013 lived in Brooklyn.

Her move to St. Lawrence County came as a result of the borough’s gentrification — a legal, but controversial practice where landlords will pay low-income tenants to move elsewhere, allowing them to renovate properties and then charge significantly more for rent.

“When we were living there we paid $750 a month for a roach-infested, railroad apartment,” Ms. Mantia said. “Now he’s charging $2,500 a month.”

If given the opportunity to move back to the city though, Ms. Mantia said she would decline.

“I don’t ever want to go back, even for a visit,” she said. “Here the people are 90% good and 10% bad. There it’s the opposite.”

When she was younger and living in the city, she did help her brother, who also dabbles in photography, develop pictures in a dark room, but until moving to St. Lawrence County, she says she never really considered photography a serious hobby of her own.

“After I moved up here I saw how beautiful everything was and I wanted to take pictures,” she said, explaining either her daughter or brother will take her for a ride. When she sees something she likes, she then asks them to stop the car so she can get out and take pictures.

In addition to being legally blind, Ms. Mantia is also a cancer survivor, who deals with mental health issues and receives Care Coordination Services through United Helpers Mosaic.

In fact it was her care coordinator, Trina Bedford, who encouraged her to submit one of her pieces in the annual Mosaic Art Show. 

After much consideration, Ms. Mantia decided to enter a piece she titled, “A Better Place.” That picture shows the reflection of trees and clouds on a still river.

When asked where she took the photo, she said she cannot recall for sure. “I’ve visited so many places up here and they’re all so beautiful,” she said, adding though she is sure that the picture, like all of her pieces, was taken in St. Lawrence County.

On the day of the Mosaic Show, Ms. Mantia said she was shocked when it was announced her photo was selected as the best in the show.

That selection earned her piece a trip to the annual New York State Association of Community and Residential Agencies (NYSACRA) Art Show, which was held this past spring at the Sagamore Hotel & Resort in Lake George — a show which features hundreds of pieces from artists all across the state.

When her piece was selected for an honorable mention at that show, Ms. Mantia said she was “flabbergasted.”

Now, she said she considers herself a true artist, noting that the recent recognition her work has received has given her a much needed boost of confidence.

“It felt really good winning and being recognized,” she said. “A few years ago I wanted to enter one of my pictures in another art show, but was told maybe I should consider entering one of my brother’s sticks (her brother carves walking sticks) instead. That made me think, ‘what, am I not good enough?’ Now I know I am.”

Ms. Bedford said that’s exactly what Mosaic staff was striving for when they decided to host their first art show several years ago.

“One of the reasons we do the art show is to help boost people’s confidence,” she said. “It’s clearly working.”

Internship Leads to Full-time Career With United Helpers

OGDENSBURG – Like many college students Taylor Elliott, of Gouverneur wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life after graduating from high school.

Taylor Elliott

“Even during my senior year in college, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree,” she said, adding she began her college career as a Vet Tech major before ultimately majoring in Applied Psychology.

While taking courses towards her degree in applied psychology Ms. Elliott met Jennifer Waite, who works as a licensed social worker with United Helpers’ ACT Team and Angela Doe, who serves as the behavioral health services coordinator. Both women also teach courses at SUNY Canton.

“I knew Jennifer worked with the ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) Team so I spoke with her and then asked Angela about internship opportunities. She asked if I was ready to work with the persistently mentally ill, and I replied, ‘I think so. It should be an experience.’”

That conversation took place last summer with Ms. Elliott beginning an internship with the ACT Team in August. She completed that internship in November, but even before her internship was over, Ms. Elliott had found a full-time job with United Helpers.

“I was hired before I even graduated, but I had no idea this was going to lead to a job,” Ms. Elliott said. “I was shocked when Angela and Meg asked me to come in for an interview.”

Ms. Elliott now works full-time as a Health Home Care Coordinator traveling the county and meeting with people in their homes to help coordinate things such as medical appointments, mental health appointments, education and employment opportunities and more.

“It’s been awesome. I really like the atmosphere and I really enjoy helping others,” she said. “I don’t even feel like I’m coming to work.”

Ms. Elliott said another of her classmates is also currently doing an internship with United Helpers and is actually the first intern the Care Coordination Department has ever had.

“It’s been a really great experience. During my internship I learned more than I ever thought I would and now I have a full-time career too,” she said.

United Helpers employs more than 1,000 people and is one of the largest health care and human service providers in St. Lawrence County, offering a wide variety of employment opportunities for everything from nursing and marketing to accounting and behavior health counseling.

If you think an internship or career at United Helpers may be right for you, please visit www.unitedhelpers.org or contact the United Helpers Human Resources Department at (315) 393-3074.