by Rachel Hunter

Rochester Regional Health’s St. Lawrence Region Behavioral Health will host the Heroes of Healing: Community Wellness Fair on Saturday, May 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Canton Pavilion, 90 Lincoln St., Canton. There is no admission cost to attend the event.

The event is being held in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month (May 2025). This is the third year that the Rochester Regional Health’s St. Lawrence Region Behavioral Health team has organized wellness fair events. At the inception in 2023, there were events in Gouverneur, Potsdam and Massena. In 2024, events were held in Gouverneur and in Potsdam. This year, 2025, the team will host a single event in Canton. The event offers an opportunity to discover resources, services, and support systems that can empower individuals and their loved ones on their journey to healing, resilience, and well-being. Engaging activities will be in abundance, including a bounce house, face painting, and food truck. Education will be available on behavioral health, case management, family support, Narcan training, physical therapy, yoga, natural foods, chiropractic care, substance use disorders, and much more.

“The goal has always been for the community to know how many resources are available to them,” said Heather Rich, the Director of Behavioral Health Services and Associate Chief Operating Officer for Gouverneur Hospital. “We want people to know how many resources are available to them. This is a great place for them to come and learn about that. I think too that it is a great place for anyone who wants to get into the field of wellness to come check out who is available… there will be a great array of people to talk to, and see if that is something that you are interested in. And mostly, come have some fun with us. We’ve got some great things for people to do.”

Vendors include: Citizen Advocates, Community Health Center of the North Country, Jefferson County VAC/CAC, MILC, MIT Team, North Country Perinatal Prenatal Council, Healthy Families Program, NRCIL, Office of the Aging, Planned Parenthood, Rural Health Research, NAHEC, Legal Aid, Massena PAL Program, Alzheimer's Association, Private Practitioner - Chiropractic Medicine, Seaway Valley Prevention Council, Statewide Action Council, St. Lawrence County Suicide Coalition, THRIVE, PIVOT, Carthage Hospital Peer Program, North Country Martial Arts, RRH - SLR: Behavioral Health, SUD services, PT services, and more.

The event will also feature a series of attractions, including crafts, face painting, bounce house, and more. A food truck, Street Meats, will also have items available for purchase. The wellness fair has a “hero” theme, and all attendees are welcome to arrive in their superhero costumes. For more information, contact Director of Behavioral Health Services Heather Rich at (315) 261-5639 or heather.rich@rochesterregional.org.

Director of Behavioral Health Services Heather Rich also provided the Gouverneur Tribune Press with the following update on Behavioral Health at Gouverneur Hospital: “Currently at Gouverneur Hospital, I am so excited to announce that we have a new therapist starting on May 27. That will put us up to five therapists, and we’re hoping soon to be able to add a sixth. We are really expanding those services. We continue to have our Substance Use services as well, and our Maternal Wrap-Around program, working with pregnant moms. All those services are in full swing.

“Our peer services continue to be huge. They bridge the gap. Our peers are individuals with lived experience who can go out into the community. They can meet someone at their home. They can accompany them to a doctors appointment or a court appointment. Or they can just meet them at McDonalds for a cup of coffee… They really do just bridge the gap.”

At Gouverneur Hospital, the Behavioral Health clinic sees nearly 400 patients. The Substance Use clinic sees over 150 patients. In the Maternal Wrap-Around program, there are about 38 patients receiving services.

Rich added, “As for Behavioral Health as a whole for the St. Lawrence Region, we continue to expand. We are hiring in Potsdam under our outpatient psych clinics. I think we have hired two more therapists there. Every time we are getting a grant, that is what we are looking at, is to increase those services, because we know that they are so needed throughout the county. We have hired a new medications provider in the Potsdam area. That will be a great thing to further support the community.”

When asked about the future of the Behavioral Health, Rich said the following: “What we are really hoping for the future is to continue to not only advocate for our peer program, but to expand the peer program. We have just really seen the benefit that those peers provide to our program, which then directly impacts the patient population that we serve.”

For more information, visit www.rochesterregional.org/services/behavioral-health.

The North Country community is encouraged to attend the Rochester Regional Health - St. Lawrence Region Behavioral Health’s Heroes of Healing: Community Wellness Fair on Saturday, May 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Canton Pavilion, 90 Lincoln St., Canton. For more information, contact Director of Behavioral Health Services Heather Rich at (315) 261-5639 or heather.rich@rochesterregional.org. The event is free, and the public is welcome to attend.