The Gathering Place, a peer-run gathering spot for Athens adults facing mental hardships, celebrated its 50th anniversary on Friday, October 16, and used the milestone to launch a two-year, $500,000 anniversary campaign.
Founded in 1976, around the time mental health hospitals were being deinstitutionalized, The Gathering Place at 7 North Congress Street offers a place where members can eat dinner, be creative and find a safe space focused on healing the mind. Executive Director Ginger Schmalenberg, an Ohio University alumna, describes it as a social program serving locals who may have a lived experience of mental illness, trauma or co-occurring substance use disorder.
"It’s kind of like a home away from home for many people," Schmalenberg said, adding that the organization is the longest-running peer-run organization in the nation. "Recovery is for everyone," she said. "And recovery means many things to different people."
The anniversary celebration at the Athens Armory brought food, mocktails, live music and photos from the last 50 years, including a performance by the organization’s band, The Gatherers, archives going back to the 1970s, a film of members, member art and a wooden replica of The Gathering Place building. Letters from Ohio University figures Charles Ping and Vernon Alden, who helped establish it, were showcased, and Athens Mayor Steve Patterson handed out certificates recognizing longtime members.
Day to day, the program offers linkage services and peer support, trips, volunteering, meals, group activities and wellness programming, plus a music therapy program run in partnership with Ohio University for about 30 years. Members themselves help plan meals, do the cooking and provide peer support. "The individuals that have maintained membership, they are the ones that are helping plan the meals, helping with the cooking. They are the ones that are providing peer support," Schmalenberg said.
In the last 15 years the organization has expanded to address the housing crisis and food security. It partners with Ohio University’s Department of Behavioral Health and is one of four statewide peer technical assistance centers, and students can be certified as peer recovery supporters through The Gathering Place. Kelly Madewell, executive director of My Sister’s Place, which often partners with it, called it "a really wonderful resource for our community."
The Gathering Place is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5:30 p.m. The first step for new members is calling 740-594-7337.
Photo: Ed!, CC BY-SA