The conference returns to an in-person format this year and will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Williams Center on the SUNY Fredonia campus.

This year’s conference will explore the theme “Connecting for Hope and Healing,” focusing on shared partnerships, resources, triumphs and concerns as a community.

Registration is required in advance and the cost of attendance is $15 per person. Registration includes a boxed lunch.

You can register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/295506958267, or by visiting www.hopeandhealingconference.com.

For more information, contact Prevention Works at (716) 664-3608 .

County Mental Hygiene Grant Director Steve Kilburn said this year’s conference will explore the theme “The Art of Hope and Healing,” “By which we are highlighting the ways in which creativity of all sorts, art and other creative expressions, can be a means of help for people in recovering from mental health or addiction issues a kind of safe care for those providing services or supports to those sorts of people.”

Prevention Works Executive Director Melanie Witkowski said there will be a section of “FRED” Talks which will feature eight different speakers talking about art, “So we have somebody that is actually a PhD student from a rock background that is actually going to be one of the FRED talks from London and we have someone coming to talk about Seat to Supper and then we have someone who is talking about how they use rap in poetry to cope. So we have all these different strengths that people have that they utilize to cope throughout this pandemic as well as substances.”

The Hope and Healing Conference is free and people can register to attend at hopeandhealingconference.com

The planning committee of the Hope and Healing Conference of Western New York (WNY) made the decision to continue with a virtual conference instead of cancelling the event. The virtual conference will be held on Thursday, June 4, 2020 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The online event will include keynote speakers and educational webinars on mental health, chemical dependency, and other wellness topics that are available in Chautauqua County and our region as well as community resources.

Hope & Healing of WNY will feature keynote speakers Anne Hazlett, Senior Advisor for Rural Affairs at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Also speaking will be Chautauqua County native, Melissa Pietrkiewicz, a clinical social worker, trauma informed care specialist, and founder of Partners in Kind, a local organization that promotes charitable efforts “to make Chautauqua County whole again.”

Other sessions on topics such as social/emotional learning, trauma-informed care, prevention, and harm reduction, are planned for the virtual event in addition to “FRED” Talks, brief and engaging presentations highlighting efforts to bring hope and healing in Chautauqua County.

Hope and Healing Conference of WNY 2020 Planning Committee Members include Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, Prevention Works, State University of New York at Fredonia, Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County, HOPE Chautauqua, the Community Alliance for Suicide Prevention, Chautauqua Tapestry, Tobacco Free CCA, Chautauqua Substance Abuse Response Partnership, and other local organizations.

Organizers say the conference will include valuable information for the entire community addressing complex needs in mental health, chemical dependency, and wellness while celebrating successes in our region. This event is free and open to the public, and registration is required. To register, find the event on Facebook by searching for Hope and Healing Conference of WNY 2020: Virtual for the registration link or call the Prevention Works office at (716) 664-3608.

Prevention Works. Treatment is Available. Recovery is Possible.

The Hope and Healing Conference of Western New York (WNY) will be held on Wednesday and Thursday at Fredonia State University of New York.

The two-day event will include keynote speakers, informational wellness tables, and interactive educational workshops on mental health and chemical dependency topics in Chautauqua County and our region.

The two featured key-note speakers are Dr. Davina Moss-King who will give a presentation entitled, The New Millennium: Providing Hope and Healing While Simultaneously Treating Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health.

The other speaker will be Emma Fabian of Evergreen Health, who will focus her talk on The Crucial Role of Persons with Lived Experience in Shaping Programs and Communities That Serve Them.

Other presentations and workshops throughout the two-day event will include overdose prevention and Narcan administration, Medical Assisted Treatment (MAT) for substance use disorders, mindfulness, harm reduction, and many other topics to inform and promote wellness in our community.

Presenters will highlight local resources, programs, and other initiatives in prevention, treatment, and recovery.

This event is open to the public, and registration is required. Lunch and refreshments for both days is included in the registration fee of $40. To register call 664-3608.