To the editor:
Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I would like to make the public aware of a significant milestone for an AMHC program that often “flies under the radar.” Skyhaven is a 10-bed group home in Presque Isle that has been serving mentally ill adults for the past thirty years. It is included among the many Community Support Programs that AMHC offers across Aroostook County. Since 1979 Skyhaven has provided skill training, counseling, and treatment for individuals with goals of moving into their own apartment and living independently. Skyhaven also provides long term living arrangements for individuals who have reached their maximum independence level.
Residents of Skyhaven come from around the State and the country, but preference has historically been given to people from Aroostook County whose need for supportive housing is greatest. Formerly known as Skyhaven Transitional Living Residence, its original purpose was to transition patients discharged from Bangor Mental Health Institute (now Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Facility), or any other psychiatric hospital in Maine, back into the community.
Despite the difficult reality of mental illness, Skyhaven program has seen many residents meet their goals to move into the community, live on their own, hold a job, and reestablish their personal relationships — they have fully reintegrated with their community.
In addition to 30 years of service to the mentally ill, Skyhaven provides workers entering the social work field with a great place to start in their chosen profession, and has provided stable long-term employment for many others. In recent years Skyhaven has benefited from UMPI’s accredited Social Work Program, often filling part-time and overnight positions with interested, qualified students. As it has for the past 30 years, Skyhaven continues to be a great place to live for individuals in need of its specialty service and a great place to work for its dedicated staff.
residential counselor
Skyhaven
