Recovery Outreach Center hosts open house

The following press release was issued by the McHenry County Mental Health Board.

The public is invited to an open house at the Recovery Outreach Center (ROC), 101 S. Jefferson St. in Woodstock on Monday, March 18, 2013 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The ROC is a place where individuals of all ages who have mental health concerns can spend time with peers, play games, and participate in arts and crafts. The mission of the ROC is to reduce isolation, provide stabilization, and offer referrals to community resources.

Todd Schroll, interim executive director of the McHenry County Mental Health Board (MHB) believes that consumer/peer run projects such as the ROC offer many positives.

“In leading programs such as the Recovery Outreach Center people who have worked through their own challenges have found a way to help others,” Schroll said.

“They know what is important, and their mission is to help others in the community,” he continued. “They offer first-person understanding, hope, and share useful skills for coping with the symptoms of a mental illness.”

The camaraderie offered at the ROC is especially important now during dwindling federal and state funding for mental health services.  Services and supports at the ROC not only promote hope and belief in the possibility of recovery, they are free.

Recovery is, as defined by the federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration, “a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”

The ROC is supported by the McHenry County Mental Health Board, McHenry County Crisis Program, Centegra Health System, Pioneer Center for Human Services, Thresholds, Rosecrance, NAMI McHenry, and the Social Connections Group.

The public is invited to come learn about the ROC, take part in an interactive craft, and enjoy a free light lunch.

For information about the ROC call a McHenry County Crisis counselor at 800-892-8900. Or call Barbara Iehl at the McHenry Mental Health Board at 815-455-2828.